Star Wars: Darth Maul: Sons of Dathomir
by Tenkai Nankobo 101
Summary: More than a decade has passed since the mission to Nyx, the Clone Wars have begun, and Maul is the teacher to his brother Savage Opress. While content to train Savage, neither brother realizes the sinister Mother Talzin has bigger plans for them that could spell doom to the galaxy if she succeeds in fulfilling them.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The cargo ship used to transport Maul and his brother Savage Opress rocked slowly in all directions in the space above Reydonia. Though he would have loved to take his revenge against Obi-wan Kenobi, he was not entirely upset when Kenobi escaped him with a Dathomir witch who had sided with him in the duel between Maul and Savage against Kenobi. "What now, brother? Do we go after them?" Savage asked his brother.

Maul had thought about that shortly after Kenobi had escaped in the detachable cockpit of the ship and knew exactly how to answer when Savage asked the question in words. "No, we will be patient, Savage. I have waited so many years for my revenge, I can wait a little longer," he said to his brother. "But the Jedi will know that you've survived, they will be coming for us!" Savage exclaimed.

Maul smiled at that comment, Savage's inexperience giving him a slight tickle. But like the question Savage had asked before, Maul knew how to reply to this comment. "I am counting on it," he said after a moment of silence. For a brief time, Savage had nothing to say to that and Maul was actually pleased with the silence that followed afterwards.

Then Savage asked what they were to do in the meantime between keeping their heads down until the Jedi began searching for them or bringing the fight to them. "No, bringing the fight to them will only result in our capture or deaths and I cannot have that while I still seek revenge against Kenobi. Take us back to Dathomir and I will begin your training in the ways of the Dark Side, it seems that though gifted you still have much to learn," Maul answered. "Though I accept your offer enthusiastically (as it was the biggest reason I searched you out in the first place), won't the Jedi look for us on Dathomir?" Savage inquired.

Maul chuckled at that because the question told him that though Savage's naiveté was still overwhelming, he had done at least some good thinking on his part. "You're right, the Jedi will seek us out on Dathomir which leaves us with only one choice. I'm setting the course for planet Nyx in the Erebus system after we make a stop on Falleen. If an old friend of mine is still Nyx's ruler, we may be safe until your training is nearly completed," he said to his brother.

"Who is this friend of yours, brother?" Savage asked. "His name is Laertes Draco and I had once helped him quash a rebellion nearly fourteen years ago. I haven't seen him since and don't know if he is still the King of Nyx, might be worth checking out even if it means risking another encounter with the Jedi scum," Maul answered. "I've never heard of this system before, was it new in your time?" Savage asked curiously.

"No, it was thousands of years old even before I went there for the first time. But Savage, if you have not been outside of Dathomir much, there are still many systems you have not heard of that I have explored and conquered for the Sith," Maul replied. After that, Maul punched in the coordinates for Falleen and then told his brother to take over the controls of their ship while he walked around and saw what was in the cargo boxes on the ship. "Yes brother, shall I contact you when we're in sight of Nyx?" Savage asked.

Maul nodded and thanked him for taking over while he went and checked out the metal boxes. As he walked around, he used his lightsaber to open some of them while merely using the Force to open others. It was mostly food and other supplies but he did catch enough parts for customization on his new legs. If he was going to reveal himself to King Laertes after all these years, he was going to need something to cover the damage Kenobi had done to his body.

With relative ease due to having the right tools to pull it off, Maul managed to sever his massive from his mechanical ankles safely. Then he assembled human feet and quickly attached them to the ankles of his mechanical apparatus. He tested the sensitivity of these new feet and they worked perfectly for artificial replacements of what he once had. In addition, these new feet made him even taller when standing erect than he had been moments ago.

They made him so tall in fact that Savage was barely half a head taller than him now. Laertes would be surprised to see the height difference but would not faint since he wouldn't be seeing the mechanical apparatus that Mother Talzin had built for him on Dathomir. Maul smiled in appreciation of this upgrade from the clawed feet that though advantageous against Kenobi would give him away if he went out into public with them. Now, he needed to see if his reservations on Falleen had expired or if Prince Xizor would still allow him to remain on Falleen for free.

Then he recalled that Xizor had vowed to not let it expire for twenty years and it had only been seventeen since he had been to the Prince's dangerous homeworld. The customization took long enough for Savage to report their arrival at Falleen and Maul thanked him before going into the cockpit and entering in his ID number to the orbiting security stations on Falleen. "Welcome back Mr. Apollonius, we have missed you on our world," said the lady taking in the code for them. "Mr. Apollonius?" Savage inquired, confused.

"One of my many aliases on worlds like this one. It was a way of avoiding the attention of the Jedi when I served under Darth Sidious and I intend to keep us hidden until we're ready to strike again," Maul explained. Then he added that once they arrived to Maul's suite, they would begin working on Savage's lightsaber skills and finding a suitable style of combat for him. Savage knew his training was only just beginning but he had no idea how much Maul had to teach him nor would he until near the end of their time together.

They touched down on the system and were personally welcomed by Xizor, who showed no surprise as to Maul's condition if he ever cared. "Allow me to introduce my brother, Mr. Apollo," Maul said to Xizor. "It is always a pleasure to meet a relative of a client and you sir are most welcome to use Mr. Apollonius' reservation at any time you need it in the future," Xizor said to Savage. Savage humbly thanked him before he and Maul were led to the latter's massive suite where Savage would at last begin the training Talzin promised Maul would give to him.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"And what of the Reydonia affair, are the people all right?" Master Windu asked. "No, it seemed as though Maul killed them all before I arrived. Guess he was too anxious waiting for me to keep them alive until I arrived to the system," Obi-wan answered. "Do not blame yourself for it Obi-wan, as you said, he was a broken and unbalanced monster," Windu assured him.

"Yes but that doesn't mean I could have saved them from his vicious blade. And now, he may still be pursuing me if he hasn't settled in the ruins of Reydonia or elsewhere to plot another plan for revenge against me," Obi-wan said. "For now, he's laying low which is likely the best thing he can do now that we know he's survived and that he is accompanied by a former acolyte of Dooku," Windu replied. Obi-wan made a reference to Savage saying that Maul was his brother and Windu looked at him, baffled.

"And how would Savage know Maul is of blood relations to him?" Windu asked. "Likely Mother Talzin, she follows the genetic line of all males in the village she built within her massive territory. She might be the one who would know how to stop Maul and Savage now that they've reunited and plan to use their powers to wreak havoc on the galaxy," Obi-wan answered.

"Are you suggesting that we send you to Dathomir to find Mother Talzin and ask her if she knows of their relationship to each other," Windu asked with a raised eyebrow. "It would probably be our best lead as to how they came to know each other and possibly a hint as to where Maul has been all this time," Obi-wan answered. "Would you like a taskforce to come with you or for Skywalker and Tano to accompany you?" Windu inquired. Obi-wan shook his head and said that since Maul didn't know of Anakin's existence when he and Maul met, he wanted to keep it that way if he could help it.

"Besides, Anakin's attachment to Qui-Gon before the latter died was like that of a father and a son. If Anakin heard that Qui-Gon's murderer was still out there, he wouldn't stop until vengeance was his or he died," he added. "I understand, anything else you need?" Windu asked. Obi-wan shook his head and thanked Windu for all his help in the issue surrounding Maul's mysterious return to the galaxy during the war.

**"While your talents are exceptional** for your lack of training, you will need all that I can teach you to survive when I cannot be there anymore. Your first lesson will be to learn how to channel your hatred and let the anger flow through you like the blood you and I share," Maul explained to a quiet, observant Savage Opress. Maul electrocuted his brother with Fore lightning, testing what Savage was and wasn't already familiar with. When he saw the reaction Savage had to the lightning, he continued with a smile on his face, knowing he was doing something right for his first time being the teacher instead of the student.

Savage did exactly as Maul instructed and channeled enough of his anger and hate to use the Force to throw Maul against a wall behind him. Though quick to recover from the blow, Maul complimented Savage for his success in the first lesson. "You're going to loathe me before this is through and desire to kill me but if you survive your training, you will become a powerful ally of the Dark Side," Maul said when he was back on his mechanical feet. "I want nothing less than that, my brother," Savage replied.

Maul wasn't sure whether he wanted Savage to call him his brother or his Master but settled for brother as that was what he was to his relatively naïve companion. "No you don't but before this is over, you'll be wanting more," Maul assured him confidently. "I don't understand brother," Savage said. "With time and training brother, you will," Maul promised Savage.

**Mother Talzin watched from Dathomir** as Maul trained his brother in the ways of the Dark Side just as she planned. Thanks to the training Savage already acquired out of Count Dooku, Maul's training was being undertaken more smoothly than she could've hoped. "Yes Maul, soon you and Savage will soon be ready for the final stages of my ultimate goal for you. I must see to it that you will be ready for your final part at least when I want you to be," she said aloud and since she was alone, she felt better about thinking aloud when it came to Maul and Savage Opress.

Amongst those final preparations included a little more usage of her ability to manipulate the minds of those who serve and fight for her. However, this usage was going to be very subtle in comparison to what she usually did to people whether they were her servants or her victims. In the case of Asajj Ventress, she had merely used her power to fuel the hatred Ventress bore towards Dooku and used it to nearly succeed in her schemes to assassinate him. With other Nightsisters, it had usually been a similar matter except towards each other but this was far more subtle than all of that.

Instead of manipulating Maul's hatred to an untimely destruction, she was going to implant one little idea into his head that would have his gears turning. At first, he would resist trying to go about conducing it as would be the natural response to his mind against her attempts to manipulate it. She was not worried about that but she was worried about him rejecting it so she had to make sure it was powerful enough to stick but not powerful enough for him to recognize it as mind control and immediately throw it away. This was going to be something more difficult than anything she did even when Ventress had been involved with the Nightsisters.

**Maul was in the midst of training Savage** in how to deflect blaster bolts by the dozen when something came up. It was a little recollection from a time in his past he had thought purged from his mind never to surface again. This little recollection was the memory of his romantic involvement with a dead Jedi Knight named Ophelia Draco. It irritated him that his memories of that fateful connection surfaced right when he was in the middle of training his brother but when he allowed it a little time, something interesting came up.

During the mission to stop her brother Claudius from destroying Heraklion Prime, Ophelia had told Maul (from the Jedi perspective) how the Sith were destroyed and mentioned the use of a power called the "thought bomb". According to her, it was a force so powerful that those with a connection to the Force and were caught in it physically burned to ash only for their souls to remain trapped between life and death. She had added that there was no way to break the seal of the thought bomb as far as the Jedi knew but Maul began to wonder if Talzin would know. Much as he hated her and wished she had never been the one to restore his legs, he knew she was the only one he could trust with that knowledge lest he risk running into the Jedi again.

While the idea of releasing the souls trapped in the thought bomb was good and finding out how to do so second best, there was still Kenobi to be considered. What if he or some other Jedi were already going to see Mother Talzin for some reason and he walked right into them instead of Talzin by herself? It was a possibility he didn't want to exploit as his whole plan was based on letting the Jedi bring the fight to him and Savage instead of the other way around. Still, it ate at him even in sleep and urged him to explore it in depth as though to not do so would kill him eventually.

It was worsened when Savage asked how they were going to fight the Jedi when they began pursuing them in the hopes of capturing at least one of them. "I have an idea as to how that may be possible but I am not sure if I want to explore it yet," Maul said. "Why would you not?" Savage asked. "For one thing, you're just barely completing the first stages of your training (doing it in barely three weeks was more than I expected) and for another… it's too risky right now," Maul answered.

"Can you at least tell me what your idea is?" Savage inquired. "In ancient Sith legend, there were eight battles at a planet called Ruusan between the Sith's Brotherhood of Darkness led by Lord Kaan and the Jedi Order's Army of Light led by General Hoth. During the last battle, Kaan became so desperate to destroy Hoth that he became insane and began considering the use of a weapon called a thought bomb. It was encouraged by the first of my Master's Sith line, Darth Bane, who convinced him to actually use it against the Jedi.

"What Kaan ever ignored or didn't realize was that when ignited, the thought bomb consumed the souls of all Force users in its vicinity, burned up their physical bodies, and doomed the trapped souls to a tortured eternity. But now, there is the possibility that they can be released, granting us an army like no other," Maul explained. "Then why don't we?" Savage asked. "Because finding out how will require going back to Dathomir and seeking Mother Talzin and until I know for certain that the Jedi are not waiting for us, I will not pursue this further," Maul answered.

_Is he afraid of the Jedi or has he grown so accustomed to hiding that he won't make a move even if he isn't afraid of our enemy? _Savage asked inside his head. "I am neither afraid nor accustomed to hiding, I am just more careful about weaving my webs as well as hiding them from my enemies until they are caught in their stronghold," Maul answered aloud. "How did you-?" Savage began. "Another thing I haven't taught you is how to protect your thoughts being read by those who would exploit their ability to read minds for personal gain," Maul interrupted.

"How does one defend against that, my brother?" Savage asked. "Whether your have heard this before or not I don't know but a wise master does not reveal all of his secrets at once," Maul answered. Savage admitted that Count Dooku had once said it to him during one of his first training sessions when the Count tried to teach him how to command the Force for the Dark Side. _His knowledge of this Count Dooku character may prove useful to me one day but not now, not while we're still unprepared to fight the Jedi _Maul told himself meticulously.

After finishing the session for another day, Maul decided to meditate on the idea and see if he could work up a plan of some sort. Unfortunately, the meditation turned up nothing so he decided to ask Xizor if he knew anybody who had gone to Ruusan or might know how to safely get there without Jedi interference. "I might know someone who was said to have accidentally stumbled on a planet of such a description as you provided," Xizor told him. Maul had made sure to tell him he had seen a decimated plain, deprived of life except for the local bouncers of the planet with the brightest light being that of a massive white orb in a deep cave whose entrance was relatively massive.

Three days later and Xizor had an entire route written down for Maul's use should he decide to travel to Ruusan as Xizor's pilot had done before him. "Thank you your Majesty, I will try to be in touch if I need to call upon my reservation in the future but I make no promises in that respect," Maul said. "You are always welcome to use my space when you need to and I will even renew your reservation on the house since you are usually a good client," Xizor replied enthusiastically. _I hope I don't have to resort to that again as comfy as this suite is _Maul thought but didn't say to his host.

Maul told Savage to ready the ship and have them head back to Dathomir to find Mother Talzin. If there was anyone he hated more than Xizor, it was Talzin but she would have to be one of the first people to know how to undo the effects of the thought bomb it would be her. But if she did not know how to do it, she would be the best hope of finding someone who did. Savage didn't like the idea anymore than he did which gave Maul the impression that his brother still liked the training; that was something Maul would be needing to break out of him before they were through.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

While drinking a strong beverage she seemed to crave these days, Asajj Ventress felt a dark presence through the Force. She recognized immediately that it was Savage since she had felt it before she heard he was wanted by the Separatists for the treason she made him conduct against Dooku. Her friend Latts Razzi tried to consul her and ask what was wrong to which Asajj answered that Savage was still on the loose. "I have to go after him again and no one can stop me from doing so, I'm the only one who stands a chance of stopping him and his brother," Asajj said.

"Last time you fought them, you and Kenobi were both outmatched by them and Savage had you on the run at more than one point in the duel. You sure you don't want someone else to do this?" Latts asked. "I am sure that no one else would stand against him or Maul for as long as Kenobi and I did, let alone beat them in single combat," Asajj answered. "Then I guess this means you want me out of this again, don't you?" Latts rhetorically and grimly asked her.

"I am sorry my friend but you're right, this time I don't know if I'll return though. If I do, I'll ask you to meet me here immediately but until then, take any assignment that gets us enough credits to keep up with the tab and I will pay you back with Kenobi's credits when I come back," Ventress replied. "See you later Ventress, may the Force be with you," Latts said. Ventress stopped for a moment, this was the first time Latts ever used that expression to wish her luck on a mission, then returned the formality.

**Mother Talzin sensed the presence **of Asajj Ventress in the Force and knew she was eventually going to hinder her plans. This was something she could not allow but she wasn't sure how to avoid an inevitable encounter with Ventress, who had thought her dead when Dooku sent General Grievous and his droids to destroy her convent of Nightsisters. _Perhaps when I bring the "City of Two Worlds" up from the ground, I will find a way to stop her from botching up my plans _she said to herself before resuming a book she had been reading.

It was an ancient Nightsister manuscript that had contained the obsession of her life. The City of Two Worlds, as the manuscript called it, was a place said to be consumed by the earth because it acted as a gateway between the physical realm of Dathomir and the Nightsister Afterlife. It would not have interested her had there not been a passage in there that said that those who used the City to gain access to the Afterlife could be granted the power of the Ancient Nightsister Goddesses whose power was so immense that to give them names would be to burn mortals to cinders where they stood. With that kind of power, Talzin could destroy Dooku, make the Jedi kneel and grovel before her, and become Queen of the entire galaxy.

And now, Maul was returning to consult her about how to release the souls of the thought bomb and she realized she didn't know how to do that. But she remembered someone from her past who supposedly studied such arts. Someone who she had banished to Felucia long ago but now would probably be of use to her. Smiling, she used what magic she knew to prepare for the return of the Nightbrothers who served her to their dark home.

**"Stay here Savage, **if something goes wrong we will need a quick exit. Make sure the ship is ready to go in emergency but try not to waste too much fuel doing that," Maul said to his brother. Savage didn't mind staying on the ship and learning the controls as he had been accustomed to the detached front cockpit of the ship and Maul giving him time to learn the new one was a major help on his part. Besides, Maul needed to see Mother Talzin alone anyway so he could thank her for restoring his legs with her powerful magic.

Finding her wasn't the hard part as she was apparently waiting for his arrival when he came into the ruins of her dark temple. While walking up to her, he took the time to examine the scattered debris that lied about and noticed that the model of droids used were Trade Federation or something else he didn't recognize. He soon found out that the more bulky ones were called super battle droids and the agile looking ones were called commando droids, elite Separatist droids. "Remind me to have Savage update me about the sides involved in this war before I leave, please," Maul said to Talzin as she explained this to him.

"You have come to me with a question of importance, my son?" Talzin inquired when she saw his troubled look. "For some time, the thought of restoring the souls trapped in the thought bomb orb on planet Ruusan has crossed my mind. I want to know if you know how to undo it and utilize the Sith souls in it or if you know someone who would know?" Maul asked. Talzin paused for a moment as though she didn't know how to answer his question and whether or not that was true was something Maul couldn't decipher from her posture.

Then, after a couple minutes of silence, she answered, "I do not know how to undo it but I do know someone who has been learning the ways of the Sith for years. If any one knows how to undo it and allow you to utilize the souls trapped within it, it would be a former Nightsister named Kycina. I banished her there because she committed a serious offense against me and the clan. Perhaps she will be of use to us now that we have a need for her Sith knowledge, tell her I welcome her back in exchange for serving you two in everything you need when you find her on Felucia."

"What crime did she commit if it isn't a bother asking?" Maul inquired curiously. "Once long ago, she had a son by a Nightbrother who is no longer alive but she discovered a Force-sensitive connection within him. To save him from a lifetime of Nightbrother slavery, she gave him away to an influential human who raised him as his own. It seemed as though she wanted him to have any life other than that of a Nightbrother as all Nightbrothers are normally destined for a life of slavery and death serving us," Talzin explained.

Maul thought about that for a moment and wondered if it would explain why he had never known his own mother. He wondered if Kycina was his mother and he was the child but he reminded himself he wasn't the only Zabrak in Dathomir's history that had a connection to the Force. Savage was an example of that and the first Nightbrothers to ever exist also provided great examples of that point. Nonetheless it did spark an interest in him to find out more about the family he and Savage apparently shared between them.

"Find her home deep in the rancor-guarded jungles of Felucia and offer her a madness herb. Its five purple leaves arranged in a star (it's a type of flower) cure any affliction of madness thanks to the Force's effects on its biology," Talzin added. "But why would I need a flower that cures madness if you cured my own when you used your power to restore my legs?" Maul asked. "Nearly thirty-five years in solitude on Felucia may have driven her a little farther- over the edge- than you were driven during your years in the junk fields of Lotho Minor," Talzin answered.

Maul understood knowing how years of solitude could cloud one's mind and damage it from having firsthand experience in that aspect of life. The Dark Side did wonderful things at a terrible price and Maul's survival at the price of his sanity had been just one example. He thanked Talzin once more then made back to the cargo ship but not before asking Talzin if the Jedi had come by Dathomir in the past few weeks. "Only once and I wasn't there to greet him when he returned here due to business I had to take care of elsewhere," she said.

Maul guessed it was Obi-wan as he was the only one who would seek Maul out after nearly getting his ass handed to him. He told Savage about what Talzin had told him and asked his brother to set a course for Felucia while he reflected on what Mother Talzin had said about Kycina's tragic exile to the planet he was headed to meet her at. Maul wondered as to why it sounded parallel to the life he had had according to what Sidious told him about his beginnings as an infant. The thought only stopped hammering itself into his head when Savage asked what a rancor was as Talzin had made it sound as though they were very dangerous.

"Non-sentient carnivorous beasts that live only to kill those smaller than them for food and each other for territory and mates. The only things they fear are any species that can kill them (as humans and humanoid creatures, like ourselves, have been known to do) and a fellow rancor that is bigger than them," Maul said. "Have you fought one before, brother?" Savage asked. "Several and bringing down just one is no easy task so I want you to search for the herb while I handle any rancors we meet along the way to Kycina's home," Maul answered.

"How will we know how to find her if Mother Talzin gave us nothing to go on except that she lived on in the deeper jungles of Felucia?" Savage asked. "While non-sentient, rancors have excellent memory and if one's mind can be bent to the will of a powerful Force-user it can guide us to where we wish to go. As Nightsisters only have grey skin and we're looking for a grey-skinned human, any rancor that has seen Kycina will be the one to guide us to her," Maul answered. Savage said he would search for the herb while they were looking for Kycina and Maul was pleased with the progress of his apprentice and brother.

First Savage had learned to use the Dark Side of the Force for simple tasks. Then he had learned how to use his lightsaber in defense as well as attack. Finally, he was learning the lesson Maul wanted him to learn: obedience to an end and independence also to an end. Savage had freedom to perform the will of the Dark Side in any way he wished so long as he performed it as Maul had done for Darth Sidious, years ago.

**Sidious felt a strong but familiar disturbance **in the Force that awoke him from his sleep in his bedchambers on Coruscant. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat from a vision he had had about his first apprentice, Darth Maul, rising again and challenging his very power. Barely eight standard hours before, Dooku had mentioned that Savage Opress (a former acolyte of his) was searching for a brother lost in the Outer Rim. Could it be true that Maul had survived the battle on Naboo and if so, why had Maul not surfaced until now or even reported his failure to him?

Then he reminded himself that he probably would have punished Maul for his failure had the man come back and reported his failure on the Naboo mission. Still, to think that his apprentice had survived all these years and was only now resurfacing for the first time since Naboo was nearly impossible for Sidious. He warmed up his sleepy muscles with lightsaber exercises and decided to think about not how Maul could've survived but on how he would finish the job Kenobi started if Maul decided to seek him out in hatred. "I fear the worst for my plan's futures, Maul and his brother Savage may be a hindrance to my plans for the galaxy," he had said to Dooku when Maul's survival was first reported to him.

"Perhaps I can eliminate him on your behalf?" Dooku asked politely. "If it comes down to that, I will let you do it but I'm not sure if I'm one of Maul's targets. Don't go after him until we know for certain whether he seeks my blood or not," Sidious answered. Dooku nodded and bade Sidious a good day after that although he knew Sidious probably wouldn't have a good day after hearing about Maul's sudden return.

**Despite initial skepticism, **Asajj Ventress followed her instincts and directed herself back to her home on Dathomir. Though Dooku had destroyed the Nightsisters, she refused to give up the hope that Mother Talzin had survived the attack. It would be the only explanation for why Savage still lived and now had a brother in his little adventure. Once down on the surface of the planet, the same instincts she had followed to come here then guided her to a desolate plain unaffected by the battle her Nightsisters had with Dooku's forces; then the ground began to shake and tremble violently beneath her feet as something big was beginning to emerge fast.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Talzin began the chant that the manuscript provided, knowing full well that powerful chants like these were well preserved and kept complete once written. She was careful to pronounce every vowel slowly as she went through what the book had provided. Then she watched as her chant took its effect and began to raise the ancient city from the ground, uprooting trees, throwing boulders and mountains off their connections with the ground, and even kicking enough sand and dirt to have a sandstorm before at last the buildings began to emerge from their underground tomb after millennia of forcibly remaining dormant. It was everything she could have imagined it being what the legends described and more, the abundant houses stretching for miles in all directions, the office buildings attempting to reach the sky but doing no better than the houses surrounding them, and the Palace at the center with the spiraling tower that was the tallest feature of this underground city.

"Yes, the legends were true for once. Now I shall begin with the final stages of my plan, I just hope Maul and Savage can keep the Jedi and the Sith busy enough for me to carry it out. But I'm in no rush, why not explore this city before I use it for my purposes then destroy it?" Talzin thought aloud with zealous enthusiasm. Though still worried about Asajj Ventress, Talzin didn't believe that the sister would interfere with her plans for this city yet nor intended to.

Talzin's biggest hope though was that Ventress wasn't here on Dathomir and had been witness to the tremor. After all, once Ventress saw something that interested her there was no stopping her from investigating the item of interest in full. The last thing Mother Talzin needed was Asajj Ventress investigating the city and finding out she was still alive before she could complete her plans for the city. But then, she reminded herself that if the worst were to come she could always use Ventress' connection to her to take possession of her mind and make her Talzin's loyal servant as she had when Ventress asked her to aid her in her plot against Count Dooku.

**After weeks of traveling **without coordinates and brining down entire smuggling groups to even find a meager portion of the way to Felucia, Maul and Savage arrived at last. Now that they had arrived in Felucia, Maul immediately made it a priority to find the Madness herb that Talzin had spoken of when he last visited her. He knew enough to know about flowers to know that the herb was simple a flower with a star-shaped set of five purple petals on it. "Why do you know so much botany if you are a Sith Lord who is meant to destroy such things?" Savage asked.

"Organisms like us work in a very similar manner to plants: we take in solid matter for nutrients, we drink water to maintain the liquidity of our bodies, and we use both to grow mentally as well as physically. To know how to destroy your enemy, sometimes you have to know their physical and mental anatomy thus spotting any weaknesses (as there undoubtedly and inevitably will be) quickly and decisively. And besides, in order to destroy your enemy sometimes you have to know how they were created first," Maul explained. "Like the Sith know how the Jedi were created, I presume?" Savage guessed.

"A valid and excellent presumption Savage, you may have much still to learn but you're catching on rather quickly. Look around for people that may know where to find the herb, persuade them with some-interrogation, if it can be called that- to persuade them if you must. Nonetheless we must have an herb ready to present to Kycina in the event that Talzin's fears about her sanity are confirmed," Maul replied. "Yes brother, shall I look in that cantina to my left and see if anyone knows?" Savage asked, indicating the cantina.

"Go ahead, it may be a good place to stop for the night if our search for the herb turns fruitless today," Maul answered with a nod. Though he didn't like doing it, Maul knew that if he and Savage separated they could get more searching done than if they stayed together. It meant that more space was covered and as long as the rendezvous point was the same, it didn't matter if this first day proved successful or if it did not. They had come this far in several months and could afford to wait a little longer as could Kycina herself.

As Maul had foreseen, Savage's exploration of the cantina at the edge of town was in vain but so was Maul's own search in the town square for someone who knew where the herb could be found. But just when they were about to call it a day, a drunken smuggler came out of the cantina and asked if they were looking for the Madness herb. "Of course, I'll only tell for the right amount of credits," he added smugly. Savage decided that since they didn't have credits, it would be best to improvise when he grabbed the smuggler by the throat and began crushing his windpipe with a single large hand.

"I mean, I would love to tell you immediately, yeah that's what I meant," he said before Savage knocked him unconscious. "Then talk and we will stop this," Maul ordered. "They have several bushes along the front of the forest. The ones most effective are the ones on the border of the forest that have already bloomed. Since Felucia is affected by the Force, the plants can live hundreds of years even after being violently uprooted," the smuggler said desperately.

"One last thing before we let you go: how are the drinks in this cantina?" Maul asked with a raised eyebrow toward the drunk. "Not the best but certainly better than the heavily diluted crap they give you on Coruscant," the smuggled told him. At Maul's order, Savage let him go and together they entered the bar unopposed. A prostitute even offered a freebie to Savage in exchange for him buying a drink for the two of them.

"Have some fun Savage, we'll be here the rest of the night and some of the morning," Maul told him. He paid the bartender a couple chips he found in one of his adventures with his brother and told him they would be the full expenses for their long stay. While Savage bought the drink with some of his own credits, Maul went up to the rooms provided to them. Despite not being high quality, the rooms were nice and cozy for a one-day stay at this place.

**Asajj Ventress had been wandering **the ancient city for an undetermined amount of time and could not believe there were people living, breathing and walking in it. _It had been underground for thousands of years, how could anyone survive that long? _she asked herself before realizing that Dathomir magic evolved from the Force and thus capable of amazing things. Could this be the work of Mother Talzin, could she indeed have survived the attack on Dathomir and merely told Ventress to stay away so that she didn't interfere with any plans she had for the future?

It was worth checking out although Savage would probably be worth more than this mere city that would be reported on HoloNet News if Republic journalists ever saw it. Hell, archaeologists would be crawling all over it and examining it within a matter of days if that were to be the case. Nonetheless, she did know only one person who would care about this place besides journalists and archaeologists: Mother Talzin. That and she knew Mother Talzin would also be the only one with the power and/or materials to raise it from the earth after millennia of remaining trapped down there.

Considering that Talzin told her to go on to find her own life after the sisters were destroyed, Ventress had to find her and force her to reveal why she said that. She had to know why Talzin had told her to leave her home behind her forever. Was it because she foresaw something that would happen to her if she didn't? Did Talzin foresee another encounter with Count Dooku in Ventress' near future?

_**Your Master Qui-Gon Jinn**__, I _gutted _him while you stood helpless and watched _Maul had said. The words and the way they were said still made Obi-Wan shutter, toss, and turn in his bed at the glorious Jedi Temple. _How did that make you _feel_, Obi-Wan? _he had added. Obi-Wan tossed again and shivered in the fear of such a loathsome memory as that had been for him. _Your rage has unbalanced you that is not the Jedi way, is it?_ Maul added to taunt him further.

It was at that comment that Obi-Wan woke up uttering a battle cry and calling the lightsaber he then activated into his sweaty hand. Being in the next-door room, Anakin heard the commotion and raced to Kenobi's room to see Obi-Wan holding his lightsaber toward the door as if to defend himself from something only he could see. "Master, are you okay?" he asked. Obi-Wan deactivated his blade and shook his head before mentioning that he dreamed about his fight with Maul.

"He mentioned how he killed Qui-Gon in an attempt to make me give into my anger. I had done that when I faced him for the first time as a Padawan and I guessed he was hoping it would work again. He could not have been more right about that one," he added when he calmed. "And yet you feel you have to face him again before long?" Anakin asked.

"I have foreseen it, it cannot be avoided nor do I think it should be avoided. If it is the will of the Force that I face him again then I will but if it is not the will of the Force then I will never meet him again, understand?" Obi-Wan replied. Anakin nodded though Obi-Wan doubted if he truly did understand as Anakin's head was somewhat thick even for someone as young as he was. As he lied back down in bed and Anakin left, he began to wonder if Qui-Gon was right about focusing on the here-and-now rather than the distant future or the equally distant past.

**Maul observed as the life outside **of the Felucian cantina began to mellow out for the first time since his sudden arrival to this forsaken world. Savage was still busy with the whore he had bought drinks for and the distant sounds of her incredibly loud orgasms could be heard across the otherwise still hallway that seemed to go forever. The stamina his brother had was phenomenal and even Maul himself began to wonder if he had ever compared on any of his missions as Sidious' pathetic apprentice.

But he reminded himself that pathetic or no, the apprentice had defeated the spirit of the Sith Emperor Darth Vitiate when it inhabited the body of Claudius Draco. While his brother continued having his way with the prostitute, he decided to do something he knew Savage would not like: he used the Force to call Obi-Wan over to Dathomir. _Kenobi, if you receive this then I want you to travel to Dathomir. I promise we will face each other alone and if you win again as you did twelve years ago, you may kill me or else I will cease all attempts towards revenge should you choose to spare me _Maul said, keeping it short, sweet, and direct.

Surprisingly, it wasn't that long before he got a response from Kenobi although the Jedi Master was fast asleep in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. _I will be there Maul just tell me where and when to meet you on Dathomir. That is, so long as you don't mock me with killing my master like you did the last time we fought _Obi-Wan replied. Maul chuckled and said that although he didn't guarantee he wouldn't, he'd try not to do that again.

It was after he finished conversing with Kenobi through the Force that Savage left the room he was in, the whore he had banged lying motionless as the dead and equally deep in sleep. "Brother, you sure you got enough out of that one? Where did you learn such stamina as that incredible feat?" Maul asked. "Let's just say I got between the legs of many women while searching for you in the galaxy," Savage answered.

Maul mentally smiled and reminded himself he hadn't been so different when he was apprentice to Lord Sidious. Just thinking of that man made his head ache and his hands lust for the feel of his lightsaber, knowing full well that the only thing that could please him as much (if not more than) as killing Obi-Wan would be exacting his revenge on Sidious as well. If there was anyone who deserved a more excruciating death than the Jedi, it also had to be Sidious himself. And Maul knew just how to start the beginning of the end for the man who had raised and discarded him if he ever had the chance: he would start with this Count Dooku character first.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The next day, Maul and Savage left the bar after paying the bartender and the whore the last of the money in their wallets. They knew their mission was to find the Madness herb and now that they knew how to find it, they would not hesitate to grab one when found. Using threats at the tip of their lightsabers, they managed to get rides to the forest via people who would have sped past it at anyway. Savage pointed out a bush that seemed to match the description given by the drunken smuggler once they arrived to the edge and Maul pulled off one of them immediately.

"Carry it, watch me in action should we encounter any rancors and observe what I do and remember it in case you face one without me. Like any other plant, the Madness herb likely can be crushed if under the rancor's feet so I want you to keep it safe until we find a rancor that can take us to Kycina's home," Maul ordered. "Don't you mean to dominate the minds of the ones we encounter so as to gaze into their memories and see if they know where Kycina is?" Savage inquired, curious. "Yes but if I do not find a hint of Kycina in the mind of the beast I have, I will kill it immediately," Maul answered.

Savage nodded and kept the herb in one hand while carrying his lightsaber in another one. Maul led the way through the clearest path in the forest and though he had to cut some of the vegetation in the forest, they were virtually unopposed. Savage began to question the legend of these forests being infested with rancors but as if the thought itself were a provocation, a massive rancor came rampaging through the forest, devastating everything in its path. It was about to trample the brothers when Maul extended a hand out to it with the Force and began to enter its mind.

Savage watched as Maul intensely concentrated on penetrating the pathetic mental defenses of the beast. He saw the way Maul intensified when the beast resisted and mellowed when it did not. "How in the universe is this even possible?" Savage asked, thinking aloud. Then the rancor dropped as though it was going to die and Maul climbed up its face and over its head before beckoning Savage to do the same.

"Can it take us to Kycina?" Savage asked. "Not all the way but over most of the terrain that would have taken us weeks by foot excluding other rancors. Besides, this one is the biggest in this part of the forest and the others will not want to fight him when they see him coming their way," Maul answered with a smile. Savage did the same and slipped behind Maul as his brother was the one who would know how to guide it near Kycina's domain.

When Savage settled in and Maul had the rancor running its fastest, it seemed as though the world around them was a blur as the rancor sped over trees, bushes, and even small animals. The biggest surprise to Savage was how his brother didn't need reins to control the beast's movements as was normal with a creature like this being used for transportation over vast distances. "Once you completely bend a beast like this to your will, you only need to keep them focused on the course as they will surely try to go for food," Maul said, clearly reading his brother's thoughts rather than just randomly lecturing. Savage was able to better grasp this when the beast made a right turn instead of a left turn and Maul had to bend his mind back under control again.

It was another few hours before they stopped and Savage's stomach didn't have the friendliest response to the sudden change in speed. In fact, it violently forced him to vomit just after getting off the rancor and making sure the Madness herb was still in the pouch he designed for its protection. Maul shook his head in pity and wondered if it was a good idea to show Savage how to control a rancor, let alone teach him how to do it. "We're near Kycina's hut, if she's cooking food right now then we merely need to follow the smell," Maul said.

He let the rancor loose to find food of its own and Savage asked why he hadn't killed it. "Savage, we only need to kill those who are sentient enough to write, speak, or communicate to others in anyway unless we want to be found and are ready to be found. That rancor is barely sentient enough to even have memories thus it poses no threat to us," Maul answered. "Forgive me brother, I understand now and I'm also picking a faint smell of stew," Savage said grimly then lightheartedly.

Maul picked it up too and they both ran in the direction that the smell was coming from before they saw smoke that led them even further up the mountain they had scaled with the rancor. And just when they had expected the barrier of vegetation to keep getting thicker and more impenetrable, it suddenly cleared after several minutes and revealed a hut big enough for perhaps four people at the most. Inside, though they had to squint to see her, the woman Maul had seen in the rancor's memories was cooking a stew and humming a tune that was maternal in its nature. For a change, Savage was the one who was instructor to his brother who impulsively began to approach the hut without caution or stealth.

"No brother, when I found you raving mad I took it easy shortly after you tried to kill me for food. I recommend we do the same in approaching Kycina as we don't know what thirty years here has done to her," he said. "Lead the way then, my brother," Maul conceited. Savage did precisely that and had Maul observe the lack of speed in his approach toward Kycina's hut.

Maul followed his example and both of them slowly crept toward the home of the Nightsister Mother Talzin had banished for giving away one of her sons to a human. But just remembering that made Maul's suspicions of his relation to her thus relating her to Savage as well came back to him. He wasn't so certain that she wasn't a stranger to him and that tune, which he remembered from when he was a baby, only heightened his conviction. Then she looked up just as they were outside the door and retreated back into her room, screaming at the top of her lungs and beating her chest.

"Wait Kycina, wait! We only wish to speak with you," Savage called. "Savage no, let he come out in her own time. If there's anything I remember from my own madness, it's that those who are insane will only return from the corners they retreat to when they're ready and the approaching people turn out to be friendly rather than dangerous as they thought," Maul said to which Savage nodded in agreement.

**"Is there anything I can **do to help you, my Master?" Dooku asked. "No nothing, this must be dealt with alone, if you can understand that," Sidious answered. Sidious' heart had been heavy as durasteel when he had sensed a presence he never guessed he feel again. He had been initially surprised when he found out about Maul's survival but when he felt the presence of Kycina, he had been baffled and confounded by the idea.

There was no way that witch who gave Maul to him could have lived all these years without retaliation of some sort from Mother Talzin. The code of the Nightsisters made that impossible and yet here she was, still living and breathing just like him. Could her punishment have been exile instead of death as he thought Mother Talzin would have done to her at finding out Maul had been given to him? It was a possibility he didn't want to explore too deeply but perhaps with his knowledge of her connection to Maul, he could use her to his advantage in finding out whether his former apprentice and new enemy wanted to kill him or not.

Maybe he was just punishing himself with paranoia for having so lightly disposed of Maul after raising him for years. It would make sense and was so easy to believe but he refused to believe it fully as it could easily cause his undoing. Instead, he had Dooku arrange his finest fleet and remain on standby until he found out Maul's intent for him. Once he confirmed Maul was a threat to his plans, he would send Dooku to finish what Kenobi had started more than ten years before on Sidious' homeworld of Naboo.

**"Yes Maul, you and Savage **have at last found Kycina. Now, it is only a matter of time before you complete my plans for Dathomir," Talzin thought aloud with incredible enthusiasm. She knew that if used properly, Kycina and her sons would be the best pawns she ever had when it came to her plans of power beyond the dreams of any man or woman presently alive. While she thought about this, she heard footsteps in the distance and knew better than to stick around until whoever was approaching arrived to where she was now.

Immediately, she teleported herself onto an opening in the ceiling that led to another floor. She watched and waited for the person who had apparently followed her into this place emerge from the darkness. The face that she would see surprised her briefly as it belonged to Asajj Ventress who Talzin had directed away from Dathomir after Dooku destroyed their Nightsister tribe in revenge for Ventress' attempt on his life. "I swear I heard a voice along here that sounded familiar," she said, cursing under her own teeth.

Talzin shrugged and decided to reveal herself, knowing that since Ventress had become a true Nightsister she could bend the poor girl to her will if she need to do it. When Ventress saw Talzin, she initially activated her remaining lightsaber and placed it in a defensive position. "So surprised to see me that you attack me when I reveal myself to you, are you Ventress?" Talzin asked when she completed her descent from the ceiling above them. "You once told me my life on Dathomir was over, is this why you said that?" Ventress asked, ignoring Talzin's question completely.

"With the Nightsister tribe wiped out and my revenge on Dooku satisfied besides the interference from that droid Grievous, I needed to direct you away from here. Nothing personal, I just needed you out of the way when I resumed my lifelong dreams again," Talzin explained. "You betrayed me and left me when I needed you most just so you could raise this city up!" Ventress demanded, shocked. "Not just to raise this city but to also resurrect my immortal namesake and bring the people of my old world back into this one," Talzin told her.

"What old world, are you claiming you are older than you look?" Asajj inquired, very confused. "Millennia before the Jedi and the Sith, when they were still called the Followers of Ashla and the Followers of Bogan respectively, there was an old Dathomir that was entranced with the magic that the Bogan had discovered. But amongst the most powerful users of this magic was a goddess named Talzin like me. This Talzin grew so powerful, according to legend, that the other goddesses with their husbands united together to imprison her and prevent her from destroying the universe as they knew it then," she explained.

"What happened to all of them?" Asajj asked, deactivating her lightsaber while Mother Talzin told this story. "The people were sealed away on their own planet along with the goddess and this city, which was a median between the first level which is the current Dathomir and the afterlife that is the old Dathomir. Unfortunately, the goddesses and their husbands sacrificed their lives to seal her away and bury this entire city underground so as to let this Dathomir develop by itself. I was one of the privileged few of the old world to find my way back here and begin plotting the return of my namesake to this galaxy and I have been plotting since the day I returned here nearly thirty thousand years ago," Talzin answered, concluding her phenomenal story.

"I have to stop you from doing this, if you succeed then it will mean the end of the galaxy!" Ventress shouted before reactivating her lightsaber. Talzin laughed which stopped Ventress where she was for a split second. "You think a lightsaber is going to do anything to me? If so then you are a fool!" Talzin said then she grabbed Ventress on her bald head.

Then she used her abilities in the Force and her connection to Ventress as a fellow Nightsister to completely dominate her mind. It was quick and painless and when Ventress awoke from the trance Talzin put her into, she would be Talzin's servant and guardian of the city when she could no longer be there. And thinking of it brought a smile to the old hag's cruel face.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Maul and Savage Opress had just seen the witch Kycina run raving mad at the sight of them and retreat into her hut while screaming and beating her own breasts. Now, she was returning with a staff that had a burning green orb at the side pointed towards the brothers. Savage was about to activate his lightsaber and attack but Maul backhanded his face hard enough to throw him into a tree while Maul himself used his knowledge of martial arts to hold Kycina at bay by hand. "Kycina, we are not here to hurt you we just need your help!" Maul told her with assurance in his voice.

Maul could not nor would not deny that reassurance was his forte when it came to talking to someone unless it was reassurance he would kill them. Kycina must have seen that and thought that he intended to kill since she attacked him once more. Then he used the Force to wrench the staff from her and he watched as the green fire died when his hand touched the golden staff with a massive green emerald at its head. "No, no, you don't understand!" Kycina shouted randomly at him.

She retreated into her house, her back hunched, her hands twitching fiercely, and every breath shivered out as though it were cold when it was actually quite warm. "You don't understand anything," she whispered, repeating her earlier sentiment. She returned to stirring her stew around and Maul used the Force to snag the Madness herb's pouch off Savage's belt before emptying the contents before tossing the bag aside. Then slowly, he extended it out to Kycina and offered it as a missing ingredient to her stew.

"I thought I was missing something, tear the pedals off that and put them into the stew so I can smash them up, quickly!" Kycina ordered. Maul remembered that Talzin had told him the pedals on the herb were the only parts of the flower that had the curative effect but the rest of the plant could be used for extra nutrition in an extreme situation. He gladly obeyed and when he did, she smashed them into the stew then stirred it with the rest of her ingredients. What also made him glad was that Savage was still unconscious under the tree he had been thrown into because what she said after getting a bowl and pouring some of the stew into it surprised even him.

She turned to three dolls, one that had red and black stripes on its face like him, another that had stripes to match Savage, and another doll whose image Maul didn't recognize. He was confused by this but his suspicions were burning even deeper into his core. "Maul, Savage, Feral, come eat some of this stew with me!" Kycina called to them. _The third one is named Feral, does Savage know who he is? _Maul asked, confused and baffled but also curious.

Unfortunately, the names of the first two dolls all but confirmed his suspicion of any relationship he had to her. He was the child she had given to Sidious to save his life from Mother Talzin when he wasn't even a year old, Savage was indeed his brother, and Maul was exactly why Talzin wanted Kycina to return into her powerful fold. "Don't speak to me like that Savage, Feral needs his strength as he's weaker than you and Maul!" Kycina said though the Feral doll had said nothing to her. He watched as she tried to get the dolls of Maul and Savage to eat the stew in vain, even acting like a real mother and trying it herself and telling them how scrumptious it had tasted to her.

"Maul, please make Savage and Feral eat this, you all need your strength and they'll listen only to you! If you don't eat your food, Mother Talzin will get you," Kycina begged. Then she simply shrugged and warned them not to complain about getting enough to eat before chugging down the remaining stew along with all its chunks of rancor meat and the smashed up bits of the Madness herb. When she began to get drowsy and was about to fall to the floor, Maul stopped her fall and took her to the bed she had made for herself and even decided to fit the dolls into her arm so she had her bedmates with her as her mind healed from the ravages of time and isolation that he had known all too well.

It was then that Savage was finally up and about, wondering why the hell Maul hit him and threw him into a tree when Kycina attacked them. "There is a time and a place for killing Savage and this was neither the time nor the place although we are isolated out here. Besides, Talzin said she would be useful to us if anyone and we need her alive until we know if she can help us or not," Maul replied. "You sound like something else is on your mind, what is it my brother?" Savage inquired.

"Before she wakes up Savage, I want you to know something I suspected and had confirmed to me while you were unconscious. This is our mother and if you don't believe me, take a good look at the dolls she's holding in her arms and tell me you don't see a resemblance to anyone you know," Maul explained. Savage took a look and pointed out all three of the sons of Kycina almost immediately after looking at them. "So you do know who this Feral chap is?" Maul asked, raising a curious eyebrow at his brother.

"Feral was our youngest brother but was also the weakest of us. So weak in fact that though he could fight, I had to shelter him while we grew up on Dathomir. When that witch you met above Raydonia came, Feral and I were chosen for her Selection along with four other males who perished by her hand. Then I offered my life in exchange for her sparing Feral of any harm that could befall him," Savage explained.

"Go on," Maul urged when Savage paused for a moment. "I was brought before Mother Talzin and the Nightsisters then transformed into the beast you see before you. My first test after my transformation was simple: sever my ties with Feral by killing him with my own hands. I snapped his neck with a single hand and was then brought before Dooku to be his apprentice. It was after that that Ventress betrayed me and Talzin sent me in search for you," he concluded.

"I feel your pain brother for I was put through a similar test when I started my life as Lord Sidious' servant. He ordered me to kill a trio of human sisters who clung to each other as I cut them down, one at a time," Maul said, shivering and growling at the memory. "Should we leave Kycina alone until she awakens and hopefully tries not to attack us again?" Savage asked, justly changing the subject. Maul nodded and after perching Kycina's staff on the soft ground next to her, he and Savage both waited in the kitchen area where she had been cooking a stew for the dolls and herself before.

"Let's try some of this, I recall the smell from my days back at Dathomir," Savage said enthusiastically. Maul nodded and recalled that the smell reminded him of a stew Sidious used to either reward or heal him after his missions to different worlds as a young child. Both of them tried it and both of them confirmed the stew as being the one they both remembered from their earlier days in their very different lives. "Let's try not to eat all of it in case she needs something to eat when she wakes up," Maul told his brother after eating some of his.

Savage agreed, knowing that the stew would fill him up quickly in one bowl and knowing there was plenty to go around. Maul washed the bowls while Savage robbed his forehead from where Maul had hit him and noticed a purple swell over his left eye when given a mirror. "Sorry I hit you, it's just that your solution could have cost us her life and made her useless to our cause. We still need her knowledge of the ancient Sith magic and alchemy in order to find a way to harness the power of the souls trapped in the thought bomb orb on planet Ruusan," Maul said to which Savage nodded his acceptance of his brother's apology.

**Talzin felt the presence of the Madness **herb inside Kycina's sleeping mind and knew it was time to encourage her back into the light of the Nightsisters. She visited Kycina's dream form and waited for it to notice her. "You, what are you doing invading my mind once more? Can't you just leave me in peace!" she begged Talzin when she finally noticed her vestige.

"No Kycina, I am not the specter that usually haunts your dreams. I am the flesh and blood body of the woman who banished you here and I have come to you with a command. Come back to sanity and help your sons in their fight against the Jedi, it is the only way the Nightsisters will assert their true place in the galaxy," Talzin answered, her voice conniving but reassuring on the surface. "At what price, might I ask?" Kycina asked her, knowing full well that Talzin always had plans for her servants whether or not they failed her.

"I only need you to help Maul and Savage in their missions together should they need your knowledge of the ancient Sith magic to launch an attack upon the Jedi or Maul's former Master," Talzin said. "And why would Maul want revenge against his former master? What do you even mean by former master any how?" Kycina inquired. "Twelve years ago, Maul was apprentice to the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and was facing a Jedi Padawan named Obi-Wan Kenobi alongside his Master Qui-Gon Jinn," Talzin began.

"Get to the point," Kycina interrupted. "Though Maul was successful in killing Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan managed to slice him in half and send him tumbling down a reactor pit. Because his Master did not seek him out, Maul rightfully assumed that he had been forsaken and has since been trying to obtain his revenge against them both," Talzin finished, her story concluded and now all that remained was Kycina's consent to help her two sons. "I will help them but not for you, only for them, is that understood?" Kycina said at last.

Talzin nodded and cured Kycina's conscious mind of its madness as she had done to Maul when Savage brought him to her on Dathomir. In fact, she was even using the very same spell she had used when she brought him back to sanity nearly half a year before this very day. When she finished, she also gave her an outfit fitting of the rank she once had in the tribe: second most powerful sorceress after Talzin herself. And now, Kycina also had the additional knowledge of ancient Sith rituals and spells at her disposal thus making her a far more dangerous adversary than she had been when Talzin ordered her banished and causing Mother Talzin to begin treading a bit more carefully with her sister.

**Maul and Savage were in for **an incredible surprise when Kycina woke up once more. For a whole day, she had been sleeping as the Madness herb's effects took their toll. Now, they witnessed her arise and witness them sitting on two stools that her former insanity had her make for her dolls. Once again, she placed her staff with the burning emerald in front but Savage made no move to stop her this time.

Instead, Maul went for his lightsaber but did not ignite his blade so that he could see what she would do next. "Whoever you two are, you have done a good job looking as my sons would if they were about your exact age! Get out before I use the power of the Nightsisters to destroy you both," Kycina warned. "That's the thing though Kycina: we _are _your sons, Savage and Maul," Maul replied.

"If that is so, who were you given to and how old were you when you were given away?" Kycina inquired, raising an eyebrow. "I was not even a year old when I was given away to an influential human named Palpatine," Maul said. Kycina paused, thinking about that answer then nodding that Maul had answered just as she would intend her real son to answer that question. "And you, if you are Savage, what was the name of the brother I left you with?" Kycina asked Savage.

"His name was Feral and he was younger and weaker than I turned out to be. He was so much weaker than I that he had to be sheltered during his early years in order to survive into his adulthood," Savage answered. Kycina accepted that answer but asked what happened to Feral if what Savage said was true. When Savage told her he had been forced to kill Feral with his own hands by Mother Talzin's witches, Kycina mourned Feral briefly but remained unsurprised at what Talzin caused Savage to do; in fact, Feral's death had stirred a desire that had been thought dead for years on Kycina's part: revenge against Talzin.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Dooku, we cannot let Maul and his brother gather enough strength to hinder our plans. Assemble your mightiest fleet and hunt him down at once, understood?" Sidious ordered. "Master, a fleet would not be able to find him without a hint of where he could be," Dooku replied. "It does not matter, find out where he is and destroy him before he has a chance to fight me!" Sidious demanded.

"As you command Master, I will have General Grievous assemble the best droids for a fleet. We will divide to scan the planets within our range and destroy him before he can threaten you," Dooku vowed. "No don't divide the fleet, I want it ready and assembled when he is found that way you can destroy him quickly. Have every planet in our territories and the territories of our allies on full alert for Maul and/or his brother," Sidious demanded.

Knowing he lost that battle, Dooku moved on to a suggestion of his own. "If our finest fleet is not to do anything until he is found, then lure him into a trap where the fleet will wipe him and his brother out from the face of the galaxy?" he politely asked. "No, I trained Maul too well to not fall for something as simple but treacherous as that one," Sidious said. Helpless and out of ideas, Dooku began making the arrangements for Grievous to prepare the finest fleet in the CIS.

**"Mother, is there any way** we can safely undo the thought bomb orb and release the souls trapped in it for our own purposes?" Maul asked Kycina when it was agreed she was no longer mad. Once she threw the dolls away, they knew for certain that she was not mad and could now ask her about the thought bomb on Ruusan without risking injury to her or to them. "One thing's for certain, you'd need to keep a safe distance while doing that as the shield itself would surely explode and release all the thousands of souls simultaneously. Then you would need something that could invoke such a phenomenon such as my staff for example," Kycina explained.

"Are there any special chants you have to say in the ancient Sith or Nightsister tongues?" Savage asked. He was remembering how Talzin had chanted in an Ancient tongue when she healed Maul's insane mind before also adding his artificial lower body onto him. "No Savage, I merely have to speak to their leader through the Force and call on his hatred for the Jedi in order to release them but as nonphysical matter, they will be of no use to us unless they find bodies. Their original if possible but if not, anybody closely related to the design of their original works as well," Kycina explained to Savage.

"In that case, we will need to leave for Ruusan and the sooner we do that the better," Maul said. "I will need the manuscript written by Exar Kun about how to undo the effects of the thought bomb. It's not a very large one nor was it one that managed to escape the Jedi at the price of entering the mercy of the elements and of time," Kycina replied. "What are we waiting for, let's get the manuscript and leave Felucia at once," Savage demanded.

"If you're in such a hurry, return to the town you started your search for me and ready your cargo ship. Otherwise, wait until I've found the manuscript and then I can clear a rancor-free path all the way back to town," Kycina replied. Savage snarled quietly and Maul smiled at his mother's already-adjusted maternal tone. She had not seen her sons since they were babies and she was treating them like little children though they were in their thirties.

Or so Maul could say for his brother Savage due to his impulsive and oftentimes sloppy nature. "Do not be too harsh on him mother, his mind is a little… direct when it comes to these things if that is the right word to be used," Maul said in his brother's defense. "I know that, your fathers were the same way when I selected both of them to be my mates," Kycina replied with a smile as warm as Maul's had been. "Then we'll wait for you to search for the manuscript then head on to Ruusan where the souls of the ancient Sith await us," Maul declared with enthusiasm after a moment of cheerful silence.

"I'll also need to bring my staff and some other potions that I made during my time here on Felucia. Speaking of the potions, I think it's time I gave you two the one that will be most important for our journey," Kycina said. "And that would be?" Maul inquired. "It's a special mixture I made that gives he or she who drinks it totally immune to Talzin's Spell of Undoing, a spell so powerful even the Gods of the Old Dathomir feared it," Kycina explained.

"Spell of Undoing? Old Dathomir? What are you talking about?" Savage asked. "To explain the Spell of Undoing, it is what it sounds like: it can undo any enhancements Talzin made to your body and to your connectivity to the Force as well as your skills with a lightsaber if powerful enough," Kycina answered.

When neither Savage nor Maul had anything to say, she continued to answer the other two questions. "Before the raise of both Light and Dark Sides of the Force, ancient Gods once controlled the Force and used it to control all life in the universe. In what would become Dathomir, there was a goddess who Talzin is named after that controlled two beautiful planets. One was called Dathomir (which is the one we know to this present day) and _KaiSu Lak'Ton_; it means 'World of the Goddess' in the Dathomiri tongue that Mother Talzin and myself can speak very fluently," she explained.

"What happened to this old world?" Savage asked. "Dathomir and KaiSu Lak'Ton were connected to each other through a city. It was called 'Gateway to Eternal Life' in the ancient tongue but because of its power and its connection to the worlds via a massive tower, it was consumed by the earth. The gods and goddesses of the universe sacrificed their powers and lives to contain Talzin's namesake on KaiSu Lak'Ton and banish it to another dimension where it remains even now," Kycina answered.

"I sensed a tremor on Dathomir shortly after Savage and I left. Could it be that Talzin raised the city from its underground prison?" Maul asked his mother. Her eyes shrunk until the pupils could barely be seen and her face went pale. Then she said, "Talzin is crazy enough to do that, I hope for all our sakes that it isn't the case."

**"What are we waiting for Mother?** Why not just enter the tower now and call the old world back to our dimension now?" Ventress asked. "Because in order to unlock the gate to the tower (never mind call KaiSu Lak'Ton back to this dimension) I need the deaths of thousands of Dark Side users as their souls are the key to unlocking all of it," Talzin answered. "Is that why you are allowing Maul to go and resurrect the ancient Sith Lords that formed the Brotherhood of Darkness, a thousand years ago?" Ventress asked her.

Talzin nodded and added that it was the only way to harvest enough souls to open the gate and call the old world back to this dimension once they arrived at the top of the tower. "I am almost finished with Maul and Kycina but I still have use for your mate, Savage Opress," Talzin explained. "That monster forsook me and ran into the galaxy, why would you want him to serve you and have me to that as well?" Ventress asked, obviously frustrated. "Because enemy or not, Savage is your selected mate and you two must consecrate your bond in order to bring us one step closer to achieving the goal I have strode for during the last thirty or so thousand years," Talzin answered.

"What does consecrating my bond to Savage have to do with unlocking the powers of the old world?" Ventress demanded. "A single act of lust was all that it took to give the Goddess the power to control her worlds without interference from the other gods. It will be another single act of lust that gives her the power to bring the old world back here," Talzin calmly answered her. Ventress shuttered but did nothing to protest Talzin's decision to have her consecrate her mating bond with Savage next time he returned to Dathomir.

**"Found the scroll, time for us** to head to Ruusan and free those trapped souls," Kycina said to her sons. "Indeed it is but first, we need some coordinates to the planet that are up to date just in case the ones I have in my notes on Sith history are no longer valid," Maul said. "Who do you suggest we go to for that kind of information?" Savage asked. "We're going to pay the visit I never got to pay and had hoped to pay when we went to hide in Falleen: we're going to planet Nyx," Maul answered.

"We're meeting this Laertes character you said was their king when you went there twelve years ago?" Savage asked him. Maul nodded and said to Kycina that he would explain everything about Nyx along the way. "It's a long flight to Nyx even with the hyperspace on our ship at full power. I'm trying to see if I can fix it at some point plus we'll be needing fuel anyway and Nyx is a good place to replenish the fuel supply," he added.

"There should be some extra fuel in some of the crates in the cargo hull as the last pilot of this ship delivered fuel and other supplies across the Outer Rim," Savage said. "If it's the right type of fuel for the ship, that may work but we have to make sure it's suited to the ship and not just starfighter quality," Maul replied. "What's the difference?" his brother asked him. "Starfighter fuel burns quicker and it requires high quantities of the fuel to pilot the ship for as long as space battles take," Maul answered.

"If anything good came out of your time with Sidious, I may have to say that it has to do with your knowledge of ships and other machines. Where did you learn such dizzying facts?" Kycina asked. "I used to have my own person starfighter called _Scimitar_, a Sith Infiltrator with the most powerful cloaking device in the galaxy. On every mission, I took it to the planets involved and had to fuel it quite frequently until I customized it to conserve its energy resources," Maul explained.

"Is it still functioning, I mean with you having been presumed dead by your Master and all that?" Kycina asked. "It would be impossible for Sidious to throw it away without anyone picking up on it later. He'd have to keep it in its hangar if he wanted no one to suspect the return of the Sith," Maul answered, shaking his head before talking. Then he added that that hangar was in the heart of the Republic, Coruscant, which would mean immediate detection now that their ship was recognized as theirs.

"That means dumping it at Nyx or Ruusan once we free the ancient Sith Lords," Savage said. "Most likely at Nyx since we can trust it will be destroyed upon request from me unless Laertes is no longer the King or someone supporting or related to him isn't in power now. Last time I went over there, there was a rebellion against Laertes' rule as King of Nyx and my Master sent me to protect him from the rebels," Maul agreed. "Then let's hope the will of the Force decrees that he or one of his supporters rules over the planet," Kycina said.

**"My Master, the fleet is assembled.** Shall we wait until someone reports Maul and Savage's presences in one of our planets or on one of the neutral worlds?" Dooku asked. "Yes, wait for such a report then destroy them even if you have to destroy that entire planet," Sidious answered. "If I may ask Lord Sidious, why are you so afraid of repercussions from your former apprentice?" Dooku inquired.

"I have no idea what you mean to know by asking that," Sidious replied. "Are you afraid Maul will seek you out and attempt to take his revenge on you for abandoning him on your homeworld?" Dooku reiterated. "I am indeed for I have trained him far better than I have trained you in the ways of the Dark Side. He may be more powerful than I even if he only has half the strong body he once had under my service," Sidious answered.

"Perhaps Master it would be best if you came with me to whatever Maul is next reported at and aid in the efforts to wipe out Lord Maul and his monstrous brother. Your connection to him will help me confirm whether or not he is still alive after we have completed our efforts to destroy him. My link to Savage can help confirm his death as well so with both of us present, we can both honestly tell each other they are truly dead," Dooku suggested. "I will think on that apprentice but it is indeed a very good idea," Sidious said.

When Sidious' hologram faded out of existence once more, Dooku scoffed at his Master's paranoid fears of Maul destroying him. Why would Sidious, the most powerful of all the Sith Lords, be afraid of a former apprentice coming to end his life? Why wasn't he looking forward to the challenge Maul and Savage offered instead of cowering away like a little bitch? "I will destroy Maul and that creature Savage _myself_, my Master is too girly in his fears of Maul to be trusted," he thought to himself out loud.

Then he summoned Grievous and told the General may have some use for him in the task of eliminating the Zabrak brothers. "My Master is too fearful of Maul to be allowed to confront him. If anything, Sidious will likely give into his fears and let Maul have the upper hand as he would want. In addition, if he unleashes the souls of the Sith trapped on Ruusan as a rather reliable spy has told me, I will be the only one powerful enough to counter the effects of Kaan's Battle Meditation," Dooku began.

"Do you wish me to infiltrate Lord Kaan's ship and end his life while you have him distracted with the usage of Battle Meditation?" Grievous asked. "Yes General, take four MagnaGuards with you in case he is protected then cut him down when he is alone. It is the only to put an end to Maul's threat for certain and assert that we are the true order of the Sith in our own galaxy. The way I am seeing it, two problems will be eliminated in one brilliant stroke if all goes to plan during this attack on Maul and Savage Opress," Dooku answered.

"I will handpick the best of my guards to assist us in this matter. It will take only the very best to ensure the death of Kaan and the end of the ancient Brotherhood of Darkness for certain," Grievous vowed with enthusiasm. "Do not expect the Jedi to intervene in this matter except to capture one or both of the brothers but if they do intervene, kill them," Dooku ordered. "With my usual undying pleasure, it shall be done immediately my lord," Grievous replied.

After many hours on the cargo ship and updating Kycina on what happened to Maul, the trio finally arrived. The door opened to the air of Nyx and Maul knew who was greeting him right when he saw him: King Laertes from twelve years ago. "Hello Maul, welcome back to Nyx. We've been expecting you," the greying King told him with zealous enthusiasm.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"It's been a long time, have you grown taller Lord Maul and who are these two in your company?" Laertes asked Maul politely. "King Laertes, let me introduce to you my mother Kycina and my brother Savage. Now that that's taken care of, let me ask you a question: how did you know I was coming here?" Maul answered. "Easy enough to answer, the code I left you with before you left Nyx behind you for landing was one that only I am normally allowed to use," Laertes explained.

"So because you and I were the only two who used those codes, you knew who I was right away. Very impressive trick and I don't doubt you've been waiting for me since I left Nyx after saving your people from the Monster and its admirer, Dr. Archimedes," Maul replied. "That's why I gave it to you before I left, the people still believe in their hero more than they believe in their King. You did some great things for this planet and since your arrival, business has thrived mostly on the tourism we get almost every year," Laertes said.

"Tourism? I have no clue what you mean by that," Maul inquired. "We have a massive park mainly dedicated to sculptures made in your honor, entire museums have been open solely to contain paintings made to worship you, and theatres have been made to house the actors involved in plays made about your story. You are probably the most revered person on this world besides the gods themselves," Laertes explained.

"How am I a hero? You and I both know I was nothing but as cold-blooded a killer back then as I am now," Maul asked. "That's not what the people think: they've always thought the Jedi were perversions of the Word and Wisdom of the Gods however, they've never had the courage to stand up to them before. When you killed that old man Darius Othone, you gave them courage but most importantly you gave them something the Jedi would destroy if it meant keeping our planet from the Separatist fold: you gave them hope," Laertes answered.

"Did they find out what happened to me on Naboo, twelve years ago?" Maul asked him. "They did and while initially crushed by Kenobi's blow to their hopes and dreams, they prayed to the gods that you were not dead and would one day return to save them," Laertes answered. "Save them from what?" Maul demanded. "In my opinion, from themselves," his old friend calmly replied.

"Your Majesty, why don't you show Savage the statues that were made in his brother's honor? I want to talk with Maul alone for a moment, go on and we'll catch up," Kycina said. Laertes led Savage away and when Kycina found a shaded corner that had no people nearby, she revealed her thoughts. "Maul, you may have been evil elsewhere but here you are a hero; can't you understand what that means to me or even you?" she asked.

"Mother, Sidious raised me only to kill or else do good things until it was time to betray or murder them, sometimes both. Why do you all see good in me when it's been clearly stripped away from me by Lord Sidious?" Maul replied. "We know your true qualities better than you know them yourself, we know who you are not who you want to be," Kycina said. When Maul had nothing to say in reply except that he had killed Jedi and was seeking revenge against one for slicing him in half, Kycina continued her maternal speech.

"Maul, I know when someone's lost and when there's still a chance for someone to return to good. Your brother is lost forever but what do you expect from a pawn of Mother Talzin? However, since you have escaped her influence all your life there is still a chance you come into the light for the first time. Unless there's a good reason why you haven't come into the light at all?" Kycina asked.

"I once fell in love with Laertes' younger sister who was a Jedi. This was while we were chasing their brother Claudius across several dimensions of the galaxy as he found a way to travel between dimensions. When we finally got him at the end of the road, he fused his mind and body with the soul of an ancient but powerful Sith Lord named Darth Vitiate who once led an Empire that terrorized the Old Republic. Using this newfound strength in addition to the power of the final dimension and her own lightsaber, Claudius killed her remorselessly as I watched helplessly," Maul answered. "She died while protecting you, did she not?" Kycina guessed.

Maul nodded then concluded his tale by explaining how he defeated Claudius, destroyed Vitiate's soul forever, then brought Claudius back to this dimension for Republic justice to take care of him on Maul's behalf. Since then, he continued to seek revenge for Ophelia's death as the Jedi Code had forbidden her from acting on her love for him. "Do not blame the Jedi for their Code, their ways may seem unkind but they are with good reason and always have been," Kycina told her dear son. "How can you be so sure and if not that, what should I blame?" Maul asked.

"Do not blame anything my son, unless you wish to give yourself guilt that you wish to throw on your enemies," Kycina told him. "I… I don't understand," Maul said. "Neither did I when Talzin found out that I had given you away to Sidious (by which time I had already birthed Savage and Feral) and banished me to Felucia. But in my madness, I found salvation from my guilt by holding on to one thing: the love I had for my three sons and the hope that they were all safe even though I failed you," Kycina replied, placing a warm hand on his cheek as she said it. "Failed me how, mother?" Maul asked.

"I tried to save you from that bitchMother Talzin but I gave you to a man rivaling her in his evil! I'm so sorry I didn't know who I was giving you to," Kycina answered before breaking into tears in her son's arms. "Mother, you saved my life from the person you most feared would kill me or put me to a lifetime of slavery. I just regret having not been sent to find you sooner than I was," Maul said, attempting to comfort her.

**Ever since their mother had **joined their company, Savage had noticed his brother's resolve for revenge shrinking. What the hell made him so soft when around their mother and not around him? Did Maul fear Savage would pick up on his weakness and try to exploit it? While Laertes showed Savage what his brother had done more nearly fourteen years ago was living proof that Maul had been a ruthless warrior in his past life.

Why couldn't Savage see that same ruthlessness in him now? Was he merely putting on a fake sense of mother-son affection to fool Savage and hopefully kill him? What did he have to gain from that? "Here is my favorite statue made of your brother in this park, he's fighting Jedi Master Darius Othone who he killed in order to insure that the Jedi did not get involved in our personal affairs," Laertes said.

"It is a truly impressive work of art," he said rather absently. But it indeed was as it depicted his brother using one end of his double-sided lightsaber to stab at Master Othone's gut. However, the artwork could do nothing to make Savage want to bring the point of the family's stay in Nyx. "This is not why we are here though," he said to the King aloud.

"Your brother never dies but he always wants something of me, what is it this time?" Laertes asked. "According to the last map recorded of the planet Ruusan, yours is the nearest system to it. Is that still correct even now?" Savage answered. "Yes, we mine metal ores and minerals there and sell them to the Republic in exchange for protection from the CIS," Laertes said.

"Are the coordinates still the same as they were on Maul's map?" Savage inquired. "Yes they are, we make sure to have cargo ships update us on the coordinates on a weekly basis. If there was any change to them, we would have known about them by now," Laertes replied. "Excellent, when does the next cargo ship leave for Ruusan?" Savage asked.

"The next one leaves in three days, if you wish me to book a flight for you and your family that can be easily done and immediately," Laertes told him. "That works perfect for us all," Savage said. "By any chance, do you have a plan to return here or are you staying there?" Laertes asked. "Take that up with my brother, he will know better than I," Savage answered.

With that taken care of, Savage could now examine his emotions in the knowledge that the journey to Ruusan would be over. Then he realized he was feeling something he had never felt before and as he was not surprised to know, it was about his brother Maul. It was an emotion he knew Feral had felt when they were growing up under Talzin's menacing shadow: jealousy of who his brother was. Now, all he had to do was wait for the chance to either restore that side of Maul or kill him as the Sith ways would allow him to do.

**Talzin could feel Savage's jealousy **beginning to well within him and knew she could use this to hasten the opening of the gate to the temple and the tower at its flat top. The temple itself was a simple pyramid shape with wide stairs that went up to the entrance of the tower. And in order to go inside the temple, one had to enter the tower's entry door and descend via a flight of stairs provided near the center of the temple's bottom floor. The only problem was getting past the gate at the base of the temple which could only be accessed by the deaths of many Sith souls, thus aggravating her need for the souls of the Brotherhood of Darkness.

She would especially need the souls of such powerful ones as Kaan and his Council of Dark Lords. It would ignite the magic fire inside the tower as well as open the entrance to the tower itself thus allowing her to ascend to its top and make preparations to call the old world back to this dimension. The thought of seeing her native people again made her smile and warmed up her heart for the first time in several millennia. After all, her blood family resided on that old world and had used almost all their power to send Talzin to this world before the gods banished the old world from this galaxy, its true home.

"Did the people of this world make the climb up this temple to ascend the tower before arriving at your old home?" Ventress asked. "Yes, it was how the Nightsisters were first initiated into the hierarchy that Dathomir now has. Unless you were born in the old world as I was, you had to fight your way up to it," Talzin answered. Ventress showed her amazement in the expression on her face as well as relief she didn't have to go through that initiation.

"Yes Ventress, soon you and I will be seeing the old world with our own eyes. Let me tell you that though the surface of the planet is far more glorious, looking at the planet from here is still a magnificent site to behold. Look around you now at the smooth round pillars that hold up the roofs of the houses on this city, the massive steps on the temple leading to the tower, and at the tower's round shape with the windows going across every circular section. Isn't it magnificent architecture?" Talzin asked.

"I noticed the hieroglyphs along the wall showing Nightsisters fighting enemy soldiers. They aren't by any chance the Nightbrothers, are they?" Ventress inquired, nodding to answer Talzin's question. "No, those were the days when men dominated our society and forced us women to rebel against their evil power," Talzin explained. Ventress seemed surprised at the idea that men were ever stronger than the Nightsisters but said nothing, only continued to admire the ancient architecture that would impress even the Jedi.

And now, Maul and Savage were close to Ruusan with the release of the souls of the Brotherhood of Darkness soon to follow their arrival with Kycina. Now that Kycina's magic could be relied on, she would be able to succeed in activating the power of the entire town and the tower before calling the old world back. Now that they had arrived at the gate after exploring the city, all the two of them needed to do now was sit and wait. Wait for the arrival of the massive fleet that represented the large remnants of the Brotherhood of Darkness itself.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"Brother, the coordinates to Ruusan from here are still accurate. His Majesty even said Nyx-based companies make regular shipments of durasteel extract and cortosis ore. In addition, he can schedule us a flight on one of those ships headed for Ruusan in three days," Savage said to his brother when he met up with them again. "That's good Savage but we're not headed there just yet, we'll need to ask him if they ever export that stuff to Coruscant so I can get the _Scimitar _back from it hangar assuming my Master was wise and kept it there," Maul replied when he had a spare moment.

Kycina was tired from another day of using her magic to create more potions at the reservation Laertes had made for them in his Grand Palace. Maul was tucking her into bed when Savage arrived and delivered the news to him. "Why are you so interested in that ship and I know it isn't just its invisibility cloak?" Savage asked. "It's been my sole transport for every mission I have been on in the name of my lord, I have a special connection to it as a result of that," Maul answered.

Savage shrugged then left to sleep in the reserved room made to accommodate him due to his massive stature and night habits. When Kycina asked what the noises were coming from, Maul assured her it was just Savage being a lady's man in the old fashion manner: seducing a girl for one night and taking away any virginity she had for life. "Will you tell him that's bad for his health if he does it too much, please?" Kycina whispered, trying to be a mother even though she was tired. "I will when the morning comes, he'll be too busy tonight for me to lecture him," Maul replied.

"Tell him now please," she demanded, though her exhaustion made it barely more than a mumbled whisper of a demand. Maul chuckled and said he would then she fell completely into sleep and didn't come back out for at least eleven hours. Though he had told her he would tell Savage to quit screwing the first woman to give him the cue, he never did because he knew it wouldn't persuade Savage not to do it. Instead, he took a look through the sacks that Kycina had tied to her belt and found something he never expected to see again in one of them: the dolls she had used to represent him and his brothers during her madness.

Perhaps she had foreseen something where they would be involved and wasn't telling him. He didn't bother to ask her as he had faith she would tell him when she was ready. They so much to talk about when the matter of revenge against Kenobi and Sidious was over and they were alive anyway. Perhaps this would be just one more thing for them to discuss with Savage once they had gone into hiding.

But Maul had one last thing to do before he could worry about sleep. He had to call Kenobi again and tell him when to meet him on Dathomir again. _Kenobi, if you can hear me reply immediately. Can you head me Kenobi? _he asked through the Force.

**Kenobi felt the familiar entry **of Darth Maul into his mind and listened to what the fallen Sith Lord had to say this time. Then he heard Maul say, _Kenobi, if you can hear me reply immediately. Can hear you hear me Kenobi?_ Obi-Wan thought about how to reply to that then replied in the most obvious way possible.

_I hear you my old foe, have you decided when we will meet again? _Obi-Wan asked. _Meet me on Dathomir before the end of one standard week. There might be a little wait involved but I will be there to fight you again _Maul answered. _Then it is decided, I fight you again and must I be alone again? _Obi-Wan asked, remembering what happened last time Maul told him to come fight him alone.

_No, my brother Savage will not intervene in this fight. It will be the true battle between you and me _Maul said. _Then I will see you at the end of one standard week for our final battle against one another to see who is greater. Does the loser die in this? _Obi-Wan asked. _Perhaps and perhaps not _Maul said.

Obi-Wan tried to inquire as to what he meant but Maul did not reply. It would appear that Maul had let go of at least some of the hate and vengeance he had first felt when he had first been returned to the galaxy seeking Kenobi's head with his brother's help. Whether Obi-Wan could call that a respectable characteristic of his enemy or not was beyond him but he remembered to ask him one single question. Would Qui-Gon have insisted that Maul be forgiven even though he was the one Maul gutted all those years ago?

**In the morning, Maul and Savage **requested to have passage on the next ship to Coruscant so Maul could retrieve _Scimitar_. "If you're looking outside the center of the city, I've got a ship going to Sector 179B-290P3 near an entrance to the criminal Underworld," Laertes said. "That's perfect, we can disappear without a trace if we slip into the Underworld until we're near the _Scimitar_'s place of rest. The Jedi won't even suspect we're there until we've taken the ship and left," Maul said.

"Keep in mind that two massive Dathomiri Zabraks (especially this one) walking around with a small human woman are going to stand out. How are we going to avoid the attention of the criminals once we've securely thrown the Jedi off of our trail?" Savage asked. "One criminal's death can secure that you're left alone for an entire section of the Underworld unless it's someone prestigious or is done in the domain of someone prestigious amongst the scum," Maul answered. "And if that were to happen, what then?" Kycina inquired.

"Is there a spell you can use to throw them off guard until we have escaped?" Savage asked. "Good idea, I was about to ask that myself," Maul agreed. "I can wipe out their memory but that will only last until we have escaped. It's not powerful enough to do any permanent damage to their minds," Kycina answered.

"Good enough for me, we'll hopefully be flying back to Ruusan with the ship by the time they remember our appearance or close to it at the very least," Maul said enthusiastically. "But why avoid the Jedi, are they not our enemy and hunting us down at any rate?" Savage inquired curiously. "As much as I do not deny they are our enemy, I don't want unnecessary confrontation with them until I can lure Obi-Wan out to Dathomir by himself. Any sooner than that and any other way would be pure suicide or capture for all three of us," Maul said, adding Kycina's magic wouldn't do good against the Jedi once they were captured.

"I may be powerful but I'm not sure how many Jedi I could kill before one of them reached me and took my staff or worse, killed me. Unlike Mother Talzin, I have some reservation in taking even a single life in self defense," Kycina admitted. "Very well, is this goodbye forever like I thought the last goodbye had been?" Laertes asked. "Hopefully not but who knows what will happen?" Maul answered.

"I'm glad to have seen you again anyway, old friend. No matter who thinks you otherwise, you are a hero of Nyx and will be treated as such whenever you visit our honorable planet," Laertes said to him. "Thank you Your Majesty and I must say something now: I'm sorry," Maul replied. "Sorry for what Maul?" Laertes asked before seeing Maul's expression.

**"It won't be long now **before the power of the Dark Side is used to aid us," Talzin said. "What makes you so certain of that, Mother?" Ventress asked. "Once Maul regains his ship _Scimitar_, he'll use it and its invisibility cloak to travel to Ruusan, completing his mission," Talzin answered. "An invisibility cloak, how big is the ship?" Ventress inquired.

"Longer and sleeker than a Separatist vulture droid but about the same width, why?" Talzin asked. "Normally, no ship that size has a cloaking device but it would seem this one is an exception," Ventress answered. "It matters not so long as Maul, Savage, and Kycina make it to Ruusan and free Skere Kaan and his fellow Sith. With the power of the Brotherhood of Darkness, these brothers and their mother will at last fulfill the destiny Savage began when I sent him in search of his brother," Talzin said.

"So he did come to you after he fled the Separatist Dreadnaught above Toydaria," Ventress stated. "Yes and he was severely wounded from blaster bolts fired by the battle droids Dooku ordered to shoot him after he turned on you and Dooku. I healed his limp and the damage to his abdomen before he went on his way, his eye healing along the way and his most damaged horns settling into cauterized stumps forever," Talzin told her disciple. "Then why did Savage fight me over Raydonia and why do you want him to ally with me just to traditionally consecrate our bond; couldn't you have given him direction not to attack me?" Ventress asked.

"You are not innocent in the manner of him attacking you there. Remember that you mocked him about still being the animal he was when he served you then chastised his brother by saying that he was 'half the man' Savage was," Talzin answered. Ventress admitted guilt on that end and asked why the red bars on the sides of the gates seemed to increase in their size with each passing minute. "The souls of the dead on Dathomir are being slowly absorbed into the energy source fueling this city's magic and that does include the souls of the Nightsisters who were massacred by Dooku's minions from Karis to Old Daka," Talzin explained calmly.

"Does that include the soldiers in the Army of the Undead as well?" Ventress asked. Talzin nodded and added that being the ones dead longer, they were being the first to be pulled into absorption of their power before facing oblivion. "That seems to cruel a fate in exchange for the power they have to offer, don't you think?" Ventress asked Talzin rhetorically. Talzin shook her head, saying that any measure necessary to avenge their fallen sisters against Dooku and then take over the rest of the galaxy was neither cruel nor unnecessary.

"In order to achieve such a galaxy-altering goal as ours, equally great measures must be taken. There is no such thing as victory without a cost in any battle whether it'd be in the mind or not," Talzin told her. Ventress could relate to that since she led plenty of Separatist victories and knew all too well that they could sometimes cost her dearly. After that discussion, Ventress decided it was best not to press the issue any further and watched as their time to enter the tower came closer and closer.

**"I'll have your strongest drink **straight up," Savage said to a bartender deep in the Coruscant Underworld. "My dear son, must you really drink whatever disgusting stuff he gives?" Kycina whispered after Savage was served his drink. "It's part of looking normal in this forsaken part of Coruscant," Maul interjected. "If this is normal while we're here, I think I'd rather take my chances standing out from the crowd," Kycina said.

"You're actually doing a good job of a normal woman in these parts so keep it up, mother," Maul said to her. Kycina shrugged and told Savage she still didn't like him drinking though she knew she could do nothing to stop him from doing so. But Maul helped by admitting that he believed she was right about Savage having to be careful lest he perform poorly when forced to use his lightsaber or the Force. Savage promised to have only two cups then he would drink no more for the rest of the filthy night.

"Hey hot stuff, you want to go up to my room and have some fun?" a pirate asked Kycina, the alcohol reeking his breath. "I think I'll pass," Kycina answered before using some of the magic from her staff to blow his head off. When everyone in the bar stopped to look at the mess she made, she warned that if anyone else asked to have some fun with her they would share the same fate. "Can we ask one of those big men with you, miss?" a prostitute in the back asked her.

Before Savage could speak, Kycina put her foot down and said no. "Your woman is strict yellow guy, you sure she doesn't want you for herself?" the whore asked Savage. "I'm pretty sure my mother wouldn't want me for herself in that disgusting way," Savage answered. She flipped him off then walked out but for once, Savage was glad he had his mother to stop him from taking that woman up on her offer.

Though he didn't mind doing it from time to time, Savage began to realize that he found no solace and no rest in getting laid with the first prostitute that asked him. He was almost getting low on credits and since his Separatist accounts had been deactivated as a result of his treason, it wasn't like he was going to get another withdrawal like he did last time. It was exactly why he pulled out all the funds he had while his accounts were still active and carried them around in the most portable ways possible: attaching them to his belt and in a concealed pocket under his shoulder plates. To make things more interesting, his credits were all unmarked thus not revealing his true allegiance whenever he made a purchase or paid for something important.

One time, he made a trip to the doctor when he got a chance and while he was lucky to have no STD's from any of his encounters something else was wrong. According to the doctor, he had higher amounts of testosterone than was healthy for someone of his species and stature. "As it is, your size is unique to Iridonian Zabraks unless you're not Iridonian," the doctor had added. "I haven't even heard of an Iridonian Zabrak, I'm Dathomirian," Savage had told him.

"In that case, you're even more unique than all my other cases with Zabraks," the doctor had replied with enthusiasm. "What can I do to get rid of it?" Savage had asked him. "If you have a mate on Dathomir, it is said the males are cursed to never be sexually satisfied until they have united their flesh with the mate that selected them. You could give that a shot if you're a lady's man back on Dathomir," the doctor had explained. Savage never thought about that comment afterwards until now and wondered if it was indeed true; only Talzin would know.

**"Something troubles you Master**," Grievous said to Count Dooku. "Yes, I have no idea how powerful Kaan is and I have not used Battle Meditation very much. Perhaps it's best we call in someone who would have a better idea of it than I do. Contact Sora Bulq and tell him I wish to see him for a very special assignment," Dooku said.

"He knows how to deploy Battle Meditation for our benefit?" Grievous asked. "Better than I would, yes. Don't delay anymore General, find him and tell him he must come to Serenno for his assignment," Dooku ordered. "Yes Master, I will contact Sora Bulq immediately," Grievous said before walking off to obey Dooku's simple command.

After that, Dooku had a moment to himself for the first time in a while and was glad he did. Indeed it would be a while before he had another private moment once this attack had begun commencing. That is, if commencing ever had to begin and for his master's sake, he hoped not.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Kenobi, I am contacting you on the open frequency so that your fellow Jedi can't trace me. Are you available?" Dooku's hologram asked his Jedi enemy. "Yes Dooku, I can speak with you. What do you want?" Kenobi replied, his tone underlying his enmity toward Dooku.

"Darth Maul is not just your enemy but mine too. He killed Qui-Gon Jinn who was a friend of mine and a former apprentice. And now, I have learned he may be rallying a fleet powerful enough to fight against both the Republic and the CIS," Dooku began. "And your point is?" Obi-Wan asked, interrupting what would have probably have been a long, boring speech.

"It may be too powerful for us to defeat alone but perhaps united we stand a chance," Dooku answered. "I already promised him I would face him alone at the end of the week, why would I want to bring a fleet when I've made my promise?" Obi-Wan inquired. "Because it would insure that you faced him alone unless I kill him before you have to face him again. Besides, would you rather not have to worry about soldiers firing at your back while you face him?" Dooku replied.

Obi-Wan handed him that one and asked him when he should have his fleet ready to unite with Dooku's equally massive fleet of Separatists. "Assemble it as soon as possible and meet me above the atmosphere of Dathomir when you are ready. If that is their base, we want to hit them where they make camp before they can strike at us," Dooku answered. Kenobi shrugged and said he would assemble his fleet and meet Dooku in two standard days at which point, Dooku disconnected the transmission he made to the Jedi.

Just then, Kenobi felt a disturbance in the Force but he couldn't pinpoint a possible source for it. He wasn't even sure where it was coming from but it did seem familiar. Then he lost it, as had been the pattern of these disturbances in the last day or two. It seemed as though the source of them was carefully covering their tracks and only having a moment where they dropped their guard before realizing it was dropped then disappearing once more.

As paranoid as it sounded, was there a reason this was happening to him? Was it happening to someone else, Dooku or Anakin perhaps? And why were these disturbances so frequent and so small in their occurrence? There was no way to tell except by sitting back and waiting to see what would happen.

**After a consecutive standard day **of travel, Maul, Savage, and Kycina all arrived at an old tower where Maul stopped in his tracks. "Brother, what is it?" Savage asked. "Is this the place?" Kycina inquired. Maul nodded to his mother but added he was trying to see what security was inside the tower.

"Where is the ship?" Savage asked. "At the very top of this tower but security is controlled in the basement. Unless we can somehow knock out the security systems, the droids in there will know we're coming inside," Maul answered. "Perhaps my magic can help solve that problem," Kycina offered.

"Is there a way you can take out the security systems whether or not the droids can be shut down as well?" Maul asked. Kycina nodded and said she would begin the spell immediately. All she did was merely touch the emerald of her staff against a wire on the ground and let a vine of green energy creep up the wire until it reached the tower. Then it diversified into multiple vines, all of which attacked the security systems Maul wanted taken out before entrance into the tower itself.

At first, the systems seemed to work more powerfully than ever before and the lights were brighter than was safe for the entire block. Then, in a single instant, the lights exploded and the security systems were overridden thus blinding the droids to the danger approaching their domain. The doors swung open, exposing a massive hallway with many passages, most of which seemed only to lead into darkness. But if the tower had not been deconstructed then reconstructed Maul knew which one would take them up to his ship, _Scimitar_.

Slowly, Maul his way towards the gate and grabbed the hilt of his lightsaber, keeping it ready in case they were spotted. Knowing how alert the droids were back in his day with them as his trainers, Maul was willing to bet that wouldn't take long. "Brother, must we go in and get your ship when we could easily have just taken that cargo ship on Nyx, gone to Ruusan and returned with an army in no time?" Savage asked. "It is necessary that we obtain this ship, its invisibility cloak will protect us from _all _forms of enemy attention until we're ready to strike back," Maul answered.

"We could have revived them and had a fleet rolling forth to crush all our enemies in one brilliant stroke by now! Why do you stubbornly insist on obtaining this ship from your glory days as Sidious' slave?" Savage inquired. "Because one day, I will need its powerful invisibility cloak to exact my revenge upon Sidious," Maul replied. Savage stopped right there and now understood that his brother had been planning two turns ahead of him once again as he usually did.

"Think before you ask questions Savage, perhaps it will help you understand your brother's intent (whether it is one I like or not and I don't like this one) in the future. You are too quick to pass judgment on your brother when you do not even know the full insight into his plans," Kycina told her younger and more immature son. "Thank you mother, I was beginning to become aggravated by Savage's tone," Maul said. One of the droids finally came out and revealed an electrostaffs with yellow electricity glowing on each end.

"I think it's time we began our battle for the _Scimitar_. Now we fight, mercilessly and without compromise," Maul declared before activating his blade. Savage ignited his own lightsaber and Kycina's emerald started to burn green fire then all three charged into the facility and began their assault. Kycina shot bolts of green energy at the droid and even managed to blow its head off with one of her shots.

Savage's double-sided lightsaber acted both as weapon and as a shield for his brother who began assailing the droids with his skills in Juyo. Whenever a droid got close to her, Kycina blasted it to pieces with her staff which penetrated through the staff and into their chest before melting their circuits and permanently deactivating them. "Maul, Savage, gather around me! I have an idea as to how we can past the bulk of the droids," Kycina shouted after enough passed and it looked as though they would be overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of them.

Maul did as instructed and protected their mother from the droids that had blasters as they did so. Kycina took her staff, held the emerald facing the ceiling and the butt of the staff facing the ground. Then she quickly recited an incantation and thrust her staff downwards, the emerald glowing as she threw it down. Without even being told to, Savage and Maul turned around and covered their eyes as the butt of Kycina's staff smacked the ground and an explosion of green light briefly overcame everything that could be seen.

When the light finally died, all that remained of the droids were charred pieces of steel that began to burn very lightly. There were even pieces of wires that were releasing sparks every now and then. Maul looked around him and Savage repeated his example, seeing the devastation their mother's magic had caused to their enemies. "Remind me never to get on your bad side, mother," Maul said after a long moment of silence. She giggled and asked if he would like to lead the way to his ship now.

"Gladly, cover me and Savage from behind as we ascend the tower. We may need you to do that again and I want to be able to reach you when you do," Maul said. "Don't get us surrounded and maybe it won't happen," Kycina replied, a warm smile dazzling her aged face. "I'll try not to," Maul said with a quick wink before continuing his ascension up the stairs leading to his beloved ship.

The droids kept coming but now Maul and Savage had them where they needed them to be: in a narrow passage with no means of surrounding the trio. Maul grabbed one through the Force and hurtled it into its friends then let Savage run in front of them and hack them all to bits. Kycina used her staff's magic to finish off those that survived the wrath of the brothers and their abilities with a lightsaber. As there were thirty levels on the tower and still several droids in the basement, Maul hoped to reach the ship before having to deal with them and even advised Kycina to occasionally peak behind them to make sure they didn't get trapped between two legions of droids.

Kycina did as her son asked and every time, she reported that there still were no droids behind them. Maul deduced they were emergency units powered by the security systems in the basement and would only be activated if the security had told them to be. That meant there were only these droids to deal with and once he got to the guns on his ship, he would surely be able to deal with them easily. The only trouble, of course, was getting there but this would be worth all the effort they were presently putting in to slice down droids and deflect their blaster fire back at them.

**Count Dooku landed on Nyx **shortly after hearing a report that Maul had been there with Savage and a woman they claimed was their mother. When he heard it, he knew he had to prove whether or not it was true but he also hoped that he didn't have to make an arrest since Nyx was a neutral world and attempting to arrest King Laertes would surely result in retaliation from the Republic. It was the last thing he needed just when he had prepared a fleet to take on Maul whenever the reports of him gathering an army were confirmed by his spies in Dathomir.

"Count Dooku, such an unexpected surprise. Have you come to personally pick up a shipment or have you come to once more attempt to sway my world to the cause of you and your precious Separatists?" Laertes asked. "Neither, I am here to ask you about something you may know," Dooku answered. When Laertes assured him they were in an area that was forbidden to all but himself and others he selected, Dooku continued.

"It has come to my understanding you have had involvement with a man calling himself Maul, his brother Savage, and his mother Kycina. Is this true?" Dooku inquired. "I have no idea as to the last two you mention but I was involved with a man named Maul early in my reign. My people still revere him as the savior of our entire system," Laertes explained.

"Did this man say who he was associated with at the time?" Dooku asked. "Why do you ask about a man who has not been to my world in fourteen years? You're a little slow on the times, aren't you?" Laertes asked, ignoring the Count's inquire. "Do not test me boy, I am powerful beyond even the strongest of your pathetic bodyguards," Dooku answered.

"Oh that I understand and threats like that are _exactly _why I have not joined the CIS yet. Until you can learn to negotiate with me like a civilized man, I will _never _even consider giving up my planet's neutrality for any reason whatsoever," Laertes said, sneering as he said it. "Thank you for your time, I think I will leave now that I know how much you're willing to cooperate in my search for this evil man," Dooku said after pausing for a short moment. "Who is more evil between the man who has only his vengeance but saves an entire world or a man who has everything at his feet who uses his power for only his on selfish purposes?" Laertes asked before Dooku was out of sight and on his way back to Serenno.

**Maul, Savage, and Kycina **had all made it halfway up the tower when at last, the droids stopped coming in wave after relentless wave. Initially, it was celebrated but then Maul's grim expression stopped all festivities. "What is it, my dear son?" Kycina asked. "Unless I'm wrong, we're in for another surprise more menacing than this," Maul answered.

"What is this surprise you speak of, brother?" Savage asked. "Droids trained to use a lightsaber though not near as perfectly as you or I can. I hope I'm wrong but don't be upset if I'm right," Maul answered. Then, as he had warned, several droids with lightsaber hilts at their waists walked to all sides of them and surrounded them immediately.

"Find your ship Maul and take Savage with you, I've seen these before and I can deal with them now. Savage's father taught me a few things about blade combat and besides, I need to see if my combat skills are rusted at all," Kycina said. "No, we're not separating we're staying together at all times!" Maul shouted.

"Then none of us get to your ship and our plans for the galaxy are compromised," Kycina replied. Maul thought about that briefly as the droids began to slowly march toward them. "Be careful mother, they will show no mercy as did none of the other droids we have faced," Maul said. Then he and Savage hacked their way through several of the droids before Kycina called the rest back to her.

With her sons continuing the journey all three of them had started, Kycina could now deal with the droids herself. She shot a bolt at two of them and successfully blew their heads off with the bolts of green magic. Then she disintegrated and absorbed her staff into her body and called the two lightsabers on the ground to her hands with the Force. "All right you walking hunks of metallic shit, let's see what you have got," Kycina said to the droids, then attacked them with her new weapons.

**After running away from the scene **of their mother taking on several combat droids by herself, Maul and Savage stopped and beheld a long, elongated ship with a massive amount of dust layering its metal plates. It looked like its last ounce of fuel had long since been drained but Maul recognized it for what it was immediately: _Scimitar_. Using the Force, he cleaned the dust off of his Sith beauty and brought several fuel hoses over to where they were meant to be inserted. "It will be sometime before I can check the interior of the ship as I have to fuel it in order to activate it but during that time, we can check on our mother," Maul said once the fuel pumps were in their place.

"If what she says is true, she should be fine right now," Savage said. "One cannot be too careful in situations like this with our mother," Maul replied. Then he ran back to where they left Kycina to face the droids but Savage stayed behind to watch the ship as it was fueled for the first time in twelve years. He had some things to think about now that his brother was starting to care about their mother as much as he did.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Maul found his mother surrounded by the ruin of dozens of mutilated and dismembered droids. In her hands were two lightsabers stolen from two of the units just before she threw them to the ground. "Where is your staff?" Maul asked. She opened one hand and green light began to glow in her hands before taking on the shape of her staff then the gold color with the green emerald on its top.

"Happy now?" Kycina asked, teasing her eldest son. Then she walked past him and went to join Savage while he watched her go and scanned the damage she left in her wake. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked after catching up with her. "Like I said before, Savage's father taught me a couple things while we were a mated pair," Kycina explained.

"Was Savage's father a great warrior?" Maul inquired. "Don't tell Savage himself that I said this, but I believed his father to be a far better man intellectually and in terms of fighting than Savage himself is now," Kycina replied. Maul asked if he was really that impressive and she told him how she believed that if there was any man who was could be considered the greatest of the Nightbrother warriors, it was Savage's father. "I never met a man with such prowess in the art of combat and such a heart as what he had had for me," Kycina said.

"And my father, what was he like in comparison?" Maul asked her. "Even though he was not as skilled as Savage's father in combat, he had the strongest willpower of any warrior I had ever faced. Talzin would need the Spell of Undoing to kill him and it would be barely enough, his will to live was that powerful," Kycina answered quietly. Maul looked surprised and she told him she saw that same willpower within him only improved in proportion to the fact that he was a former Sith Lord and his father had just been an ordinary Nightbrother with extreme willpower.

"Is that part of why you see good in me even when no one else does?" Maul asked. "It's part of how I know you can come into the light even though you've been in the dark all your life. As I said before, Savage is a lost pawn of Mother Talzin but as you have escaped your fate you can break your chains. However, it must be you and you alone who breaks those chains when the time comes," Kycina answered.

Maul nodded, not entirely sure if he understood what she meant but definitely desiring to assure her he had listened to her. "Remember Maul, people helping you to break their chains and trying to let them do it for you are not one and the same. When you and Savage came back to me, that helped me break the chain of madness besides the effects of the Madness Herb as a remedy," she added. "The final line of the Sith Code is _Through victory, my chains are broken_," Maul suggested.

"There are truths to that but there are also falsities in it like everything else in our lives. You still have a chance to understand that while you are young, I didn't learn of it until after Feral and Savage were taken from me by Talzin," Kycina replied. Finally, Maul had one last question to ask of his mother and it was one that would undoubtedly cut into her core. "Does Savage know what you've told me about his father?" he asked.

"No and neither did Feral, I don't think. It is customary that a Nightsister kill her Nightbrother mate after he has produced one or two children. If both are sons, then they will share the same fate as their father but if they are both daughters then they will share their mother's fate as a Nightsister," she answered. "Yet Savage and I escaped the fate of the other Nightbrothers though for different reasons," he said, remembering how she saved him.

"You two are the first in possibly centuries to have done that. I just wish I had known Savage would become Talzin's pawn sooner, I might have done something to save him," she said. "It was the will of the Force that Savage became Talzin's slave and found his way to me, perhaps it will be the will of the Force that I bring him back up from that life," he said. "Who knows what will happen, Talzin's hold over him is very powerful," she admitted.

They rendezvoused with Savage who told them that the ship was fully fueled and ready for flight whenever Maul was. Maul took his time boarding his old ship, eying everything that he had once used to conquer entire worlds and destroy criminal underworlds from within. Though dusty, the probe droids lied motionless where he had left them all those years ago and the controls of the ship were the same as he remembered them. He had it activated and ready for flight in mere seconds though it had been nearly thirteen years since he flew it.

Opening the launching hatch, Maul activated the ship's invisibility cloak shortly after the sun began to shine on the elegant Sith tool. "Brother, won't we be seen by the Jedi as we're this obvious?" Savage asked. "No Savage, I just activated the invisibility cloak thus we only need to relax and pilot the ship through the atmosphere of Coruscant. We will only be suspected if we bump into one of the airspeeders in the main lanes but we're not going to any of those," Maul answered.

"The ship's invisibility cloak is that powerful?" Kycina asked her son. Maul nodded and added that she and Savage could just sit back and relax while he piloted the ship to Ruusan. Once a hyperspace lane that was closest to it was clear for travel, Maul put in the coordinates and launched the ship's effective and incredibly fast hyperdrive. It was a good feeling to once again travel in _Scimitar _but this time for a mission he took of his own accord: to create an army of vengeful souls from the past.

**"According to Dooku, **Maul hopes to amass a fleet that would surely destroy the Republic _and _the CIS if we allowed him to build it. It's only reasonable that we build a fleet of our own to confront him or else to face one of Dooku's in case he only said that to bring us into a final face-off with him," Obi-Wan told Masters Yoda and Windu. "And did Dooku not recommend that we amass our finest troopers into a single fleet and nothing less?" Windu asked. "Over planet Dathomir as well, hmm?" Yoda agreed.

"Dathomir is one of few planets that is actually in the midway between Serenno and Coruscant if going by a normal route for war. It could very easily be that Dooku only wishes to travel the same distance as us for one last battle in the Clone Wars. That sort of gamble is what we've been waiting for him to make since this war begin nearly three years ago if I may say so," Obi-Wan answered to both senior Jedi. "Suggest early end to the war he wants, do you?" Yoda inquired.

"It's a safe bet to make especially now that Darth Maul is alive and can very easily be used as a cover story for such a dark intent," Obi-Wan replied. "Then we'll help you assemble your fleet and send you to Dathomir before the end of the week," Windu said. "Thank you Master and I hope for the sake of us all that I am right in my suspicion but if Dooku's right and Darth Maul is somehow involved…", Kenobi never finished that thought nor did he need to.

**"I can sense them Ventress, **they are close to their destiny now. It is only a matter of time before we have the power to destroy all enemies of Dathomir and banish their souls to an oblivion worse than any thought bomb created by Sith sorcery," Talzin declared. "And how many times have we heard that one before?" Ventress asked. "This time though, they are truly close to their goal and you only heard it that first time because I thought they were headed to Ruusan but turned back so Maul could obtain his ship _Scimitar_," Talzin answered.

"If only it would be a little sooner, I loath just sitting around and waiting in this place. Besides, the residents don't look like they appreciate our presence near the temple and who could blame them?" Ventress complained. "They never do but because I am a daughter of the Goddess, they _must _allow me and anyone with me to approach the temple unless they'd sooner not see their goddess again," Talzin replied. "But why did Maul turn around and head for Coruscant if he was already so close to Ruusan?" Ventress inquired.

"Because of a fondness Maul had with a certain ship from his days as Sidious' apprentice: the Sith Infiltrator known as _Scimitar_. Its invisibility cloak is powerful enough to hide him from even the finest of the Republic's sensors in the interior of Coruscant," Talzin answered. "He took a massive risk by going to Coruscant for just a ship, I would have left mine behind if it was in the hands of the Jedi scum," Ventress stated disgustedly. "But your ships did not have the advantage of an invisibility cloak, he could use _Scimitar _to escape this place if he survives what will transpire here," Talzin replied calmly.

After a moment of welcomed silence, Talzin remembered something Savage had given her before going with Maul to find Kycina. "Here it is: one of your lightsabers you lost when you fought Savage after Maul's return," Talzin said after digging around in her sleeve. "Savage came to you with this after our duel above Raydonia?" Ventress inquired, confused but curious. Talzin nodded and told her to be more careful with her weapons if she hoped to survive until she could be embraced by the Goddess herself.

"I will Mother, you can be sure of that one," Ventress said. "Good, now wait patiently. Even in hyperspace, the trio could take a day or two to reach Ruusan," Talzin replied. Ventress nodded and decided she would meditate while they waited for the trio to reach Ruusan, something Talzin felt she herself could do with as well.

**"Brother, what are we doing back **on Nyx? Dooku or someone not allied with us would surely have picked up on our trail and set a trap for us by now," Savage asked. "Patience Savage, I only stopped here because it is as far as one trip can take us. I need to plug in new coordinates if we are to reach Ruusan and besides, the invisibility cloak still has its effects plus I activated it right when we got out of hyperspace," Maul answered.

"We are safe Savage, do not fret when your brother is piloting this ship," Kycina said, assuring Savage he didn't need to worry about being caught. "What makes you so certain of his capabilities and not mine, mother?" Savage asked. "Savage, I have as much faith in your capabilities as I do in Maul's. I am merely suggesting that you also have faith in your brother's abilities as I do," Kycina answered.

"Then why so distant from me and not my brother?" Savage asked very bluntly. "You haven't approached me as Maul has and made the strives to become closer. I am only one person and can only do so much you have to help me otherwise I don't know what to do, let alone how much I can do," Kycina answered calmly but also bluntly. Maul asked if they could stop arguing and relax for the final stretch of the ride to Ruusan as it was going to be long though not as long as the stretch from Coruscant to Nyx.

"And you need to tell me something: when I found you and brought you back to Dathomir, you wanted nothing short of revenge against Kenobi for slicing you in half! What has brought about this change in your behavior and I know it isn't just our mother's presence with us," Savage inquired. "Maul, you were sliced in half by someone?" Kycina asked. "Oh so you haven't even told her what that Jedi did to you twelve years ago, well allow me to do that!" Savage shouted.

Savage went on to tell Kycina of how twelve years ago, Maul had nearly perished because his ego allowed for a young human Jedi named Obi-Wan Kenobi to sever his lower and upper body. He also told her of how Savage himself had found Maul raving mad with the power of the Dark Side and brought him back to Dathomir for healing. When he did heal, Maul had desired nothing of Kenobi's slow, painful death at Maul's own hand and Savage promised to aid him in that matter. He concluded by telling Kycina of their adventures after their first attempt on Kenobi's life and of how Savage had lost his left arm fighting Obi-Wan and Naboo shortly before Maul had nearly been forced to abandon him to the Republic troops stationed there.

"Why else did you think I got this hideous attachment? Did you think it was just a weapon I wore across my arm all the time?" Savage asked. "Maul, is it true what Savage is saying about you and him?" Kycina begged, wanting to know if her son had taken her for a fool. Then Maul admitted that what Savage said was true from beginning to end including that he had been sliced in half and wanted nothing short of revenge against Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Show me this cybernetic attachment you have, son. If anything, I will be able to use it as a visual confirmation of what Savage has said," Kycina demanded. At first, Maul wanted to resist her demand or pretend like he hadn't heard her ask that of him. Then he succumbed and stripped off his robes until she could see the cybernetic attachment Talzin had given him when Savage first brought him back to Dathomir.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you mother, it didn't occur to me that you would need to know. Otherwise I would have done so much sooner," Maul said. Kycina looked at her son's deformity with tears running down her eyes. Then she told him to put his clothes back on and never again show her his cybernetic apparatus.

"If you do, I think I'm going to be sick," she added. "But now you know the full truth of what your son and I do. We are cold-blooded killers whether you like it or not!" Savage said. At first, Maul moved to comfort her but remembered that he had forgotten to set the ship on autopilot and had to return to it before it made them crash on Ruusan.

It looked as though she didn't want to be comforted at any rate judging by her numerous tears. The only one who was not feeling any ill in this was Savage for he had done precisely what he had intended to do. He had intended to use the truth to drive a wedge between Maul and Kycina, forcing Maul back into the Dark Side. It was Savage's only hope of bringing his brother back into being the man he had been when Savage began taking his training, the same man whose resolve was hardened against anything else in the way.

**"The fleet is in position **to begin the jump and meet Count Dooku on Dathomir. If Maul is there then we know Dooku was sincere in what he said," Obi-Wan said. "And if he is not?" Windu asked him. "Then it's just another battle in the Clone Wars unless we can capture Dooku, something that will turn the tide in our favor for a change," Obi-Wan answered.

"May the Force be with you either way and have fun facing either foe. It may prove most interesting to see what the result of it all becomes," Windu said. Obi-Wan nodded with agreement and disconnected his transmission with that. Then he gave his Admiral the go to put the fleet through the jump into hyperspace with Dathomir set in their sights.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

After arriving on Ruusan and suffering a sleepless night, Kycina decided enough was enough. It was time Savage knew the truth of who _he _was in exchange for telling her the truth of what Maul had once been but no longer was. This was the time where she told him about his father and about how he had been a kind and gentle creature unless provoked by an insult to Kycina herself. It was time for Savage to know how lowly he was in comparison to his father and to his brother.

She found him standing by a tree and she could tell he had just finished urinating next to it. That was when she stepped away from the boulder she slept on and called out to him. "Savage, you and I need to speak right now about how you've been acting towards me and your brother both on the way here and before," Kycina said. "Oh great, I'm in for a scolding like you could do anything to change who I am and who Maul is," Savage replied jokingly.

"Nothing is funny about what you did on the ship nor is any of the disrespect you show your brother (and me) very funny. Your brother trained you to become the warrior you are and this is how you repay his help?" Kycina asked. "No, this is how I fight against the weakening of the resolve he once had by your hand," Savage answered. "What resolve and how am I weakening it?" Kycina inquired.

"Do you not recall when I told you about Maul's will for revenge against the Jedi? Do you not recall how I told about how I found him raving mad with anger and hatred born out of the Dark Side?" Savage replied. "You disgrace everything your father was with your despicable actions, Savage Opress!" Kycina shouted. "Do you really think I care how my father is affected by this so long as he is dead and his memory is the only thing affected by me?" Savage asked quietly.

"I _know _you do because your father raised you and Feral for nearly three years after I was torn away from you by himself. Your father was one of if not the finest warrior in the village when he was alive but he also had the kindest heart besides Maul's father. You have inherited your father's combat prowess but none of his heart," Kycina told him. "Whatever heart my father had and passed on to me was stripped of me when I met Mother Talzin then served under Count Dooku, the rest died with Feral when I killed him with my own bare hand," Savage said, his face turning grim.

"That is no reason to be this heinous around me and your brother. I demand an apology for how you tried to use the truth against us and tried to make me turn toward you more," Kycina ordered. "Sometimes the truth hurts mother and you haven't exactly been fair to me as I recall," he said. "I am sorry for that Savage but Maul is special because I gave him away to save his life whilst you and Feral were torn screaming and crying from my arms shortly before I was banished," she replied.

"So you cared about what happened to him more than you did Feral and I?" he asked, frustrated. "I care for you all equally, I wondered if any of you were still alive! That was the reason I created the dolls: to reprieve myself of the madness that would eventually consume me simply because I feared for your lives and wondered if I would ever see you again!" she answered, nearly screaming every word. "Yet now that you have seen us again, you don't like what I've become," he stated.

"I don't like what Mother Talzin is trying to make you into. But I guess I was right in my earlier assumption that you are lost to me thanks to her influence over you," she told him grimly. Then she walked away, her heart broken at what her youngest living son had become and knowing that her suspicions of him being lost were now confirmed to her and to him. "By the way mother, you might want to ask your favorite son what he vowed would happen to our enemies once we had a powerful army at our command," Savage called out to her.

"I will do that and no doubt Maul will tell me the truth. There is no greater regret I have in my life than giving away Maul at the price of having you and Feral taken from me to live as Talzin's Nightbrother slaves whilst I was banished on Felucia," Kycina said. Then she walked off, wondering how much longer she was going to tolerate Savage and if losing him again would also mean losing Maul again also. "Savage… I am so sorry for what I've done to you now and then," she said before disappearing out of his sight.

While she walked away, Savage thought about what he had said to her and what she had said to him. Then via a green mist, Mother Talzin appeared behind him and asked when the army would be unleashed. "The cave is not more than a day's walk away from here. If all goes well, we'll have that army rolling forth to crush the Republic and the CIS by tomorrow night," Savage answered.

"Good, good, faster than I had originally anticipated. You have been the finest of all my servants Savage, do not let your mother's false love for you blind you to the ultimate goal in this universe: to rule it all," Talzin said to him. "Believe me Mother, I'm more concerned for my brother than I am for my mother," Savage told her. "Perhaps his usefulness is coming to its end," she said.

"I don't understand, he has been my mentor since you cured him of his madness back on Dathomir. Why would I betray him now?" he asked. "I only needed Maul to train you to become as powerful as you are. Besides, did he not tell you that in the Sith Code, the apprentice must eventually betray the Master in order to keep the Order strong and maintain its strength?" she replied.

Savage admitted Maul had told him that the way of the Sith did decree that to occur and asked her if Maul's time was near. "His resolve is weakening, something like betrayal within his own inner circle will definitely renew it for a new goal. Yes he still has no love for Kenobi or the Jedi but have you sensed the _vengeance _you felt when you first met him?" Talzin inquired. "No I don't and he blames it on growing a respect for the Jedi he never had before," Savage replied without hesitation.

"The Jedi are our enemies no matter what your brother may have to say about them. He may have grown to respect them and perhaps they have grown to respect him but have they ever come to respect _you_ or have they always feared you as a dangerous, unbalanced monster?" she asked. All of this made perfect sense to Savage, increasing his delight in the idea of betraying his brother and putting him in his place. It definitely would help him gain revenge in the most honorable sense of the word for what Kycina had helped him become.

"When am I to turn the tables on my brother and dispose of him in the name of our cause?" he asked. "Wait until I command you to, which will be most likely after I have you consummate your bond with Ventress and if he fails to kill Count Dooku," she answered. "And what is it about Dooku that you hate so much?" he inquired innocently. "Dooku was a Jedi when he chose to help me and it was because of him that I was forced to give Ventress up in order to save our clan.

"Though she has now found her way back to the Nightsisters, Dooku _did _delay my plans for her by many years. Perhaps it worked better out that way now that I have you and her included in the plans for my ultimate goal in the universe. But then, perhaps not, who knows how it will turn out but the Force?" she explained. "Then I will wait for you to give the word to turn my blade on him, I will gladly do it if it means keeping the Sith Order strong," he vowed to his mistress.

"Just remember Savage, you may be doing it to Maul now but if you survive and he dies you will have to find a new apprentice. In time, that apprentice will also turn the tables on you in order to preserve the strength of the Sith just as you are doing now," she warned. "It doesn't matter, so long as I emerge the strongest carrier of the Sith line and not him," he replied. Then she disappeared in the same green mist she had used to appear to him here on Ruusan, a place strong with the energy of fallen Sith Lords.

**"Maul, can you and I** speak privately?" Kycina asked. "Yes mother, what I can help you with?" he answered. "Savage says that before we met, you lived only for revenge against the Jedi. If that's true, why the sudden change in your attitude towards them?" she asked.

"Mother, when Ophelia died all I could think about was how the Jedi Code had forbidden her from acting on her love and how she was forced to follow it to the very letter until she could sacrifice her life to show me her love. When I had the chance to go after Kenobi and his Master Qui-Gon, I took it without hesitation though my revenge didn't start there; it started with an old warrior named Darius Othone. His death made it so that if I asked to join the Order, I might as well be signing my own death-wish due to his prestige amongst them.

"At first, I treated Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan the same way I had treated Darius: quarry that needed eliminating due to their pestilence in my master's plans. I even went so far as to be absolutely disappointed when Qui-Gon was eventually gutted by my hand near a shaft leading to a reactor pit. At first, when I dueled with his apprentice, I had mocked him by saying that I hoped he was a better match than his master due to being disappointed in the old man. But Kenobi proved the better of the two of us when he used my ego and his Jedi ways to slice me in half, my lower half being lost forever to the reactor," he began.

When Kycina said nothing, he continued. "For more than a decade, I was consumed by Dark Side-fueled rage and a maddening obsession with his death while living on Lotho Minor on little more than scrap food. When Savage brought me back to Dathomir and had my mind healed, my resolve was as strong for revenge as it had been when I was an insane freak of nature. But since then, I have come not to hate Obi-Wan but admire his skill and his ability to spare me even when I brought up his master's death at my hand.

"Obi-Wan was indeed a Jedi who was willing to make any sacrifice to complete a mission. But he would never resort to murder and if I am to honor his legacy, neither can I. Yes I still feel a desire for revenge but not for him so much as my former master. I learned that if I were to feel revenge, it shouldn't be for the man who took my legs from me.

"Instead, it should be for the man who had trained me to only feed on the fear and hate within myself and others to survive until the completion of a mission. Because in the end, he disposed of me when he thought me dead just as everyone else did," he concluded. "Maul, you have already come a long way from what you once were and being that I am your mother I will always be proud of you son," Kycina said. "Thank you mother," he told her before going off into meditation for two hours; she followed his example as did Savage.

**"Dooku, my fleet is in position**. What do we do now that we're here?" Obi-Wan asked. "Now we sit and wait for the arrival of this fleet assuming it exists at all," Dooku answered via a hologram on Kenobi's ship. "This is going to work very well indeed," Obi-Wan stated.

"Patience Jedi, if Maul comes he will bring no ordinary fleet: he will be arriving with the remnant of the Brotherhood of Darkness from a thousand years ago. To counter their Lord's ability in Battle Meditation, I have brought Master Sora Bulq," Dooku replied. "And who is their lord, might I ask?" Obi-Wan asked, curious to know about the Brotherhood's dark power. "His name is Skere Kaan, an ex-Jedi like myself who founded the Brotherhood as a means of uniting the wielders of the Dark Side under a single banner against the common enemy that was the Jedi," Dooku explained.

"And what is Battle Meditation?" Obi-Wan inquired. "A dark power meant not to be trifled with and wielded by few. You should be afraid of it's potential as I am," Dooku said then he disconnected his transmission.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Kycina, Maul and Savage had arrived at the place where the concentration of Dark Side power was at its greatest. It was inside a cave that looked like it had not been accessed for a thousand years, never mind explored for just as long. "This is it, I can feel the dark power ebbing from it. Even after a thousand years, it is still so strong," Kycina said.

"I sense it too," Maul replied. Savage only nodded his confirmation that he also sensed it. "You two will need to stand far back, even I cannot reach it unless I use my staff to unlock the souls of the dead themselves," Kycina advised. Maul and Savage did as she said and when at Maul's signals, she began the incantations necessary to complete the ritual that would resurrect the vengeful Sith souls. A green orb that equaled the thought bomb orb in size was conjured from her staff and was allowed to float towards it before she positioned it to act as her means of communication between herself and the trapped souls.

"Skere Kaan, ancient leader of the notorious Brotherhood of Darkness, I summon you and the souls trapped there with you to exact your revenge upon the Jedi. Arise from your entombment and destroy the descendants of those who defeated you! Rise and reassert yourselves as the rightful rulers of the galaxy itself!" she commanded to the bright-white orb. Then the green orb fused itself to the white one and at first, it seemed as though they created a whirlpool of magic and Force power that would be destroyed if anything went wrong.

After that brief time that seemed to last eternity, the mixture began to take the shape of a door and open a black hole equally big. Souls began to walk through this door and it came as no surprise to anyone that Kaan was in the lead of them all. What did surprise them was that the soul of a woman followed him then the souls of several Sith Lords they could not identify from their knowledge of Sith history. Plus it seemed as the effects of their resurrection brought back two more Sith Lords that had originally been killed before the thought bomb was activated.

Their names were Qordis and Kopecz, both of them seeming angry almost right after being risen back from the dead. "Ouch my neck still hurts from when that cursed Bane broke it with his Force choke. That boy was more powerful than I imagined when I tried to persuade him to join Kaan again," Qordis said. "Shut up Qordis and come meet the trio that has somehow resurrected us in this dimension," Kopecz ordered.

"Yes, I would like to know who they are also," the woman said, her tone cool and calculating. "Allow me to introduce myself and my sons: I am the ex-Nightsister Kycina, this is my oldest son Maul and my youngest son Savage. We only wish you to help us in destroying two powerful enemies that seek our heads. One is called the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS for short) and the other is the Republic you once fought," Kycina explained.

"Our forces are large enough to fight both of them even if they unite unless they are bigger than Empire had once been. It was strong enough to rule over half the galaxy before the Jedi drove us here to Ruusan," Kaan said. "You united more than half that strength here before we were defeated, a good omen for these fugitives here," Kopecz said. "It is indeed a good sign for them and us to take our revenge against the Jedi scum and this CIS this trio speaks of," the woman agreed.

"By the way, could we get an introduction from you?" Savage asked. "Savage, how rude of you to speak to a woman like that!" Kycina hissed. "No, it is fine Kycina and I should have introduced myself after I came through the gate anyhow. I am Githany, former love life of Darth Bane himself," the woman told them.

"Now I remember you, you tried to kill him on Kaan's orders and failed when he found Caleb the healer. Then you tried to escape when the thought bomb was about to go off and failed at that as well," Maul said. "That is all in the past and do not bother telling us what year it is, we already have an idea since the thought bomb orb allowed us to sense the passing time as a means of knowing and embracing our pain," Githany explained. "Most impressive and do you know the history of your galaxy since that time when you were first imprisoned in the orb?" Savage inquired.

"Most of it but we do not know what happened to the Sith after we were defeated by the Jedi," Kaan answered. "You soon will," Maul warned them. "Enough talk then, time for some serious action!" Kopecz said. Maul, Savage, Kycina, Githany, and Kaan couldn't agree with him more on that matter.

**"Yes Maul, now you have found **the Brotherhood of Darkness and revived them. Their vengeance will fuel the tower with power it can use to create a gateway to KaiSu Lak'Ton. From there, we can bring in the _real _army that will crush the Republic, Dooku and his Separatists, and everyone else who dares to oppose us," Talzin declared. "Finally, I was getting bored waiting for them to find the army on Ruusan and hearing you promise that they were close," Ventress said, her tone very exasperated.

"Now for the act of lust that will bring the planet into this dimension. We will wait for Savage to return with the fleet to this part of the galaxy then I will bring him here," Talzin replied. "Oh what? I'm not getting laid with that creature if my life depended on it," Ventress promised Talzin.

"Your life may very well depend on you 'getting laid' with Savage. You may think you have the ability to ignore the mating call that all Nightsisters feel after selecting a partner. Do not pretend you haven't had those lustful tendencies that are even worse in Savage than in you," Talzin commanded. "I have no desire to help you in this part but I am compelled to agree by your powerful spell over my mind," Ventress admitted grimly.

"Good but since you insist that you cannot sleep with him, I will see to it that he fights for the right. It may charge him more than is healthy for his kind but that doesn't matter to me so long as it is done and KaiSu Lak'Ton is brought to its rightful place once more," Talzin promised. "Shit, I'm in for it now," Ventress said. Talzin slapped her and told her to watch her language in the presence of a Mother as well as the people in the city.

After that, she focused some of her magic then electrocuted Ventress with it in order to strengthen her possession over Ventress' mind as it attempted to resist her. When she was finished, Ventress was back in her fold once more and she could be sure Ventress would obey her when Savage returned. "You are not working _with _me in this matter Ventress, you are working _for _me," Talzin reminded her. "I understand, my Mother," Ventress replied and with that, Talzin was satisfied for now.

**"Forgive me for saying so my lord **but the Saleucami system demands my attention again. I feared this and that's why I decided to teach you Battle Meditation just in case," Sora told his Master. "Very well my apprentice, you have done me an honor in teaching me this rare art. I only hope to employ it effectively against Lord Kaan's ability to use it," Dooku replied.

Sora bowed then ordered a shuttle prepared for his return to Saleucami while Dooku and Grievous dealt with Kenobi and Maul on Dathomir. Though Dooku had to admit it was somewhat disrespectful that Sora would urge to leave for Saleucami, perhaps it was for the better. Three days had come and gone since Dooku had sent Kenobi his request to come to Dathomir and he had to admit that he was beginning to agree with the Jedi in wondering whether or not Maul had a fleet coming to fight them. It was at that moment when ships never seen before jumped out of hyperspace and started firing at random cruisers while their starfighters exited their hulls as CIS and Republic fighters alike raced to intercept them.

"Perhaps Maul has shown up with that army after all. If we survive, my spies will be handsomely rewarded for their tracking skills. It wouldn't have worked without their ability to patiently sniff out the trail of my enemies and tell me what they were doing," Dooku said shortly after the attacks on them had begun. Grievous was barking orders in the background and was beginning to employ the strategy they would have used against the Republic fleet if the rumors about Maul's had been confirmed as a false alarm.

"Grievous, as soon as you give the final orders I want you to take eight squads of commando droids and four MagnaGuards and head for their main cruiser. It appears to be that massive one that every other ship is converging to protect. I will engage Battle Meditation and hopefully get you up to that cruiser once you signal me that your shuttle has left the hangar on our ship," Dooku commanded. Grievous nodded and prepared four lightsabers to take with him and handpicked each of the droids he would take with him behind enemy lines.

_**Savage, on my signal it will be **__time to betray your brother and undo everything you, your brother and your mother have created together. Soon as you complete this task, or at least have Maul and Kycina defeated, call to me through the Force and I will bring you to the ancient city on Dathomir where Ventress and I are presently located _Talzin whispered through the Force. _I will be waiting for your signal, Mother. I am tired of my brother's weakness around my mother and his strength around these other Sith Lords that surround us _Savage replied, his intent bright and clear for the future.

Maul talked with Kaan about something and it seemed like something important considering the grave look on Kaan's face shortly after they finished their little discussion. Savage could now very easily see Ventress being his reward for his defection to his ultimate loyalty: Talzin. It was easy to imagine that Talzin had broken her mind and made her a puppet of the Nightsisters again considering how Talzin had said that Ventress suddenly allied with them likely by no will of her own. He knew that bitch well enough to know that she would never again side with him unless there was absolutely no choice left besides him.

After pondering this little bit about Ventress, he inquired as to what Kaan had spoken to Maul about. "Kaan will once again engage in Battle Meditation to make our fleet even more powerful than it already is," Githany said. "If all goes well, we may only need to use it once as one of the so-called Sith Lords is on board the CIS Dreadnaught now," Savage replied. "I hope for all our sakes that you are right about that," Githany admitted.

**"All fighters take off from the hangars **when ready! We have a more massive fleet on our hands then even Dooku had anticipated and I don't want any sitting ducks!" Kenobi shouted at the top of his strong lungs. "Sir, isn't that dangerous? On most of our cruisers, sending out the starfighters would mean barely escaping a serious case of understaffed ships," Admiral Yularen asked his Jedi.

"I'm aware of that but that's a risk we have to take if we're to prevent Maul's fighters from reaching us while Count Dooku engages in Battle Meditation against Kaan," Obi-Wan answered. "Sir, I've heard of Battle Meditation before: if the legends of its power are to be believed, his forces may destroy us no matter how hard we try to stop it if Kaan is strong enough," Yularen warned. "Then let us hope he isn't that strong with it," Kenobi replied. Yularen nodded and continued to do his part in helping the Republic fight this battle alongside their Separatist enemies, a change not everyone was accustomed to.

Kenobi kept his lightsaber at his belt and made sure it was ready for any infiltration from his arch nemesis. If Yularen's fears were confirmed, he was going to need it sooner than he would like. He even grasped its light hilt tightly to affirm how much he desired not to use it now.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"General, is your team ready for their special mission?" Dooku asked Grievous. "Yes my lord, they simply wait for your command and they will accompany me behind enemy lines," Grievous answered. "Then send them now, I will engage Kaan in Battle Meditation and will do my best to help you but I make no promises as to the extent of the help," Dooku warned. "I only need enough to reach the ship and find Kaan before he destroys you and that is help enough to me, my lord," Grievous replied.

"Then board your shuttle and deploy when ready," Dooku ordered. "Yes master," Grievous answered. The General left and Dooku watched as his only true hope of defeating Maul marched off the bridge and to his possible doom outside the safety of their CIS Dreadnaught. After that, he sat down, crossed his legs, and remembered what Sora had taught him in engaging the Battle Meditation.

Concentrating his power within himself, he came to that point where he thought of the battle as a board game that whose tide he could change. After that, he took the pieces that belonged to both the CIS and the Republic and began placing them where he could make the strongest moves against Maul's exotic fleet. Then suddenly, the vision of the board became blurred and even distorted by the intruding presence of Lord Kaan into his mind. "_You will _never _achieve victory over my power you fake, perverted sham of the Sith!_" Kaan shouted through the Force.

"_I am far more real and far more powerful than you could possibly imagine or comprehend, you fool! Prepare to feel the _true_ power of the Dark Side,_" Dooku replied via the same means. "_How can you show me the true power if you don't even know it for yourself?_" Kaan asked. "_By destroying you while engaged in Battle Meditation with you,_" Dooku answered shortly before their battle of powers began.

**Maul watched as Kaan** was occasionally jerked by Dooku's first surges of power and wondered if Kaan had what it took to fight him. He knew from experience that if someone did not give up soon, it could keep the tide at a stalemate for the entire battle. Or else it could become not a struggle of greater use of Battle Meditation so much as a battle for the superiority of one over the other. Though he didn't want that to happen, he knew there was nothing he could do to change it if it did.

Next to him, Savage stood staring with the same intense evil look Maul was accustomed to seeing lately. "Lighten the mood a little bit Savage," Kycina told her youngest son. "I have no means by which to do that, mother," Savage replied. "Such a big and well grown man such as yourself can't even tell a joke?" Githany asked. Savage shook his head and admitted he wouldn't know how to tell one even if he wanted to.

"How tragic you cannot tell a joke but I guess it suits the fact that we're in the middle of a battle instead of in peace time," Githany stated. "Indeed we are but the question we must ask ourselves is this: are we indeed fighting an enemy we can call ours or are we instead fighting ourselves?" Kycina asked. "Do not heed the words of my mother, of course we are fighting an enemy we can call our own. Make that two enemies we can call our own!" Savage declared sincerely.

"That isn't what she means Savage," Maul said. "Then what does she mean, brother?" Savage asked. "She means that we must never stray away from our goals and must keep in mind that we are facing two powerful organizations that mean to kill us. Isn't that right, mother?" Maul answered.

"Partly but not quite spot on, my son. Perhaps you will learn at a later time, perhaps even when this battle's over," Kycina said. No one said a word after that, pondering at any hidden meanings Kycina might have left in her words if not barking orders to troops flying in space on the Brotherhood's ancient but powerful designs. But only two kept their reserve in the crowd while the others were rampant in doing something for the battle: Maul and Kycina, mother and son.

**The battle as the stalemate** it was becoming was overwhelming to Dooku. When he realized he could not make it so that the tide turned in favor of the alliance he had made with Obi-Wan, he decided to make it a battle of powers between himself and Kaan. It was the only way their battle could not affect his forces and the forces of the Jedi while still battling him. Bit by painful bit, he lured Kaan away from concentrating on the battle and solely on attempting to break him.

"_This battle is too great to be allowed to affect more than our two minds. Let us duel it out via the power of the Force and see who is the greatest,_" Dooku called through the Force. "_Very well, shall we begin?_" Kaan asked in reply. Dooku began by making the first surge of power that was aimed for the defenses set in Kaan's otherwise fragile mind.

Though he did not completely bust through, he did come almost halfway on that first try at the job. When he recovered, Kaan responded by sending a surge of his own that shook Dooku but did little to actually penetrate his mental defenses. Dooku realized Kaan was making this a game of who can hold on to their sanity the longest before their minds broke before the power of the Dark Side and smiled with his actual mouth. Then he returned the favor and threw an even greater surge that came even closer to reaching Kaan's mind.

Kaan fired another surge that was barely more powerful than the first one and didn't even penetrate halfway through the Count's mental defenses. Smiling, Dooku returned with yet another blast that was only a few millimeters short of penetrating Kaan's fragile mind. Then Dooku hatched up an idea on the fly: instead of seeing if he could break Kaan's sanity (something Darth Bane managed to do a thousand years before), he would see if he could _kill _him through these surges of Force power. But either out of sheer desperation or because he sensed Dooku was up to something sinister, Kaan sent another weak blast that merely threw him off but did little damage to his regenerating defenses.

Dooku knew Kaan's were also regenerating as was necessary when defending against any attempts by those powerful enough to invade their vulnerable little minds. After recovering from that blast, Dooku dove deep into the power of the Dark Side, concentrated it into a killing blast, then let it build until he felt absolutely sure it would get the job done. It doubled, tripled, even quadrupled its power before he was confident it would kill Kaan, something that pleased him immediately. Then he shot it into Kaan's mind and watched as it tore through his mental defenses and cut deep into his brain, rupturing it, causing hemorrhages, and other unimagined forms of damage in his enemy's head before collapsing on the ship's cold steel floor and falling into a healing trance.

**Savage watched, cross-armed** as Kaan battled Dooku through the Force and sensed Kaan was losing. "Something troubles you, son. What could it be?" Kycina asked. "Just sensing probably the same thing you do: Kaan is losing his battle of powers with Count Dooku," Savage answered.

"You're not alone brother, I sense it too," Maul agreed. Kycina admitted she sensed it and Githany reluctantly confessed that she too sensed Kaan's weakening against Dooku's power. Then the worst thing possible occurred: Kaan opened his eyes and screamed in pain shortly before his eyeballs popped, causing two of three gushes of blood to pour with the third and largest one being from his mouth. The impact of whatever force had caused that also knocked Kaan onto his back, making the blood turn back into his body and causing him to drown in his carnage.

"Holy shit! How is this possible?" Githany shouted, utterly shocked by her master's end. "Savage, you said you fought Dooku before?" Maul asked his younger brother. "Yes but I never saw power like this when I did," Savage told him.

"He may be more of an honorable match than I had thought he would be with the information you gave me about him. Most impressive, if I may say so," Maul stated. "What is your intention, my son?" Kycina asked. "To duel with and kill Dooku, forcing my Master to come from whatever lair he has buried himself in and face me," Maul answered.

"But you'll most certainly die if your master does as you wish!" she exclaimed. "The least I can do is be a thorn in his side before that happens to me," he assured her. While they debated whether Maul should or should not go to confront Sidious after killing Dooku, Savage kept quiet and waited for Talzin's signal. _Dooku's slave, General Grievous, will be boarding the ship soon but I do not want you involved in that fight _Talzin told the Nightbrother.

_I will gladly fade into the background when that fight begins_. _Or will it be time to betray Maul beforehand? _Savage asked his mistress. _As Kaan has been killed, it will be only a little longer then Grievous will infiltrate the ship and duel with Maul. If Maul survives and returns from the duel, then and only then can you betray and murder him _Talzin answered.

Smiling, Savage knew what to do now and simply waited patiently for this General Grievous character to arrive. As fate would have it, the wait was thankfully not very long for anyone of them. "Lord Maul, an unidentified shuttle has just landed in the main hangar bay. We're tracking the passengers deploying from the ship now," said Kopecz from one of the many sensor screens on the ship.

One of the passengers was a warrior Maul immediately recognized as a Kaleesh and guessed immediately as Dooku. "I will go to face him but I will need eight squads of Sith soldiers and four Dark Lords to come with me to face him. Who will volunteer to help me repel this threat from our ship?" Maul asked. "Qordis and I will both aid you in this matter," Kopecz answered.

"I will lend my services to you as well, Maul," Githany added. Smiling, Maul leaned his head towards the door and led his volunteers to where he would handpick the squads with their help. Savage stayed on the bridge and waited until they were gone before he issued some orders of his own. "Transfer all the ships controls and programs into my mechanical arm," he said.

"But with all due respect, isn't that illegal? Not to mention the fact your arm may lack the capacity to hold that much information?" one of the Sith soldiers asked him curiously. "Just do as I say, grunt!" Savage boomed. The Sith around him immediately obeyed and soon, he had total access to the ship's controls.

Smiling, he thanked the minions of the Brotherhood for obeying his orders. Then he activated his blade and slaughtered them all violently. He didn't even spare the women in the crew as he hacked and slashed down soldier after soldier all while the door was closed and ray shielded from the inside. _Well done Savage, it is almost time _Talzin told him.

He thanked her then remembered his mother was still alive and he saw that she had witnessed what he did. She raised her staff to put a spell on him but he used the Force to snag it off her. "Not so fast, you will not use any of your magic on me, this time," he told her. Chuckling, he threw the staff aside and made for the kill on his mother. But before he could, she managed to recover the staff and teleport closer to the door.

"What has she done to you to make you this way, Savage?" Kycina asked. "She liberated me from the bondage of being a Nightbrother responsible for a weakling like Feral," Savage replied. "At the price of your soul," she stated before walking out of the door and possibly out of his life. He ran to follow her so as to make sure she didn't compromise his plans but she had already teleported out of his sight.

**"Count Dooku, if it is truly** you it is an honor to finally face the so-called apprentice of my former master," Maul stated when he managed to stop the infiltration team sent by the CIS. "Oh no, I am not Dooku. Allow me the honor of introducing myself as his apprentice: General Grievous," the Kaleesh replied enthusiastically.

_I sense no Force power in him, this should be very easy _Maul thought to himself. "Killing you will bring Dooku to me, I know that for certain. If you are high on his list of favorite servants," he said aloud. "Higher than any other he has had before or after me," Grievous replied.

Then the General reached for his lightsabers but that wasn't what caught Maul off guard. What did was when his arms split from two to four and he activated four lightsabers simultaneously. _Okay, this may be more difficult than I anticipated but I shouldn't have trouble finding a way to overcome this _he thought, making sure not to give into his surprise. Igniting his own lightsaber, Maul engaged him directly while his companions fought the droids Grievous had brought along.

**In an attempt to conserve her magic power**, Kycina ran as fast as she could to reach her son in the hangar and tell him of his brother's treason. "Leaving so soon, Kycina?" a familiar voice asked. "Mother Talzin, what do you want?" Kycina replied after she turned to see the ominous figure of the head of the Nightsisters. "Simply for you to not intervene in the beginning fight between your sons, it is precisely what I have been planning for," Talzin said.

"If you intend to use them to bring back your homeworld, I will not allow it!" Kycina said before attacking her enemy. She shot a green orb of energy at Talzin, who merely scoffed and grabbed it when it came. Absorbing the impact, Talzin crushed the ball until it exploded and at first, flinched from the pain of doing so. "Your magic has improved since last we fought each other but it is still not powerful enough to stop me," she stated before using the Force to throw Kycina against a wall.

Her staff left her hand and she knew Talzin would give her no time to recover it before she finished her off. "No way I would expect my own daughter to treat me but it doesn't matter now," Talzin stated very randomly. "What are you talking about, Talzin?" Kycina inquired. "By blood, you are my daughter; besides the fact that they were easy to manipulate, why else would I take such an interest in your sons after I banished you?" Talzin replied.

"No it can't be true!" Kycina shouted in despair. "Oh but it is Kycina, much as I hate to confirm it to you. I remember the day I made my own Selection with a Nightbrother scum. Like you, I had been very young then and like you, I loved him deeply after I fought him and earned control over his pathetic life," Talzin began.

"Then what the hell happened to him if you loved him so much?" Kycina interjected. "Easy enough, the then-head of our clan ordered me to kill him though she was unknowingly talking to a daughter of the Goddess herself. Yes Kycina, I am a daughter of the Goddess who dwells on KaiSu Lak'Ton and have dwelled in this dimension before both Ashla and Bogan respectively became the Jedi and the Sith. I was here before either of Ashla and Bogan even existed but of course, that is irrelevant to our little story," Talzin explained.

"Then please go on before I puke," Kycina told her. Ignoring that derogatory comment to her demeanor, Talzin did precisely that. "In accordance with custom, I did kill him but not in a way you would think. Instead of simply taking his life, I took his soul and absorbed it into my being thus explaining this masculine voice you hear when I speak.

"But to you, that Nightbrother would likely have been just another Nightbrother sharing the fate of his comrades were it not for one small detail. That Nightbrother was _your _father and grandfather to your sons as I am their grandmother," Talzin said, concluding her tale with that. Kycina could barely hold back the tears heating up in her eyes at knowing that Talzin, her sworn enemy since she had been banished, was her biological mother. "Whether you found out the truth or not, did you really think you could take me on all by yourself?" Talzin asked after a moment of sinister silence.

"Actually yes, but in the off chance I was wrong…" Kycina answered before indicating to her glowing staff. The glowing light began to flash and Talzin didn't need much time to realize what it could mean for her. With her face frozen with sheer fear of what it could do, she teleported away from the fight almost immediately. When she was gone, Kycina giggled and gloated aloud about how everyone always fell for the bluff of her staff exploding itself.

**Talzin could not believe her daughter** would dare insult her so badly as to attempt to assassinate her. One would have thought she'd have taught Kycina to have more respect for her superior than that. Nonetheless, it didn't matter now that she was farther up the ship for her rendezvous with Savage and she had not died in the explosion Kycina attempted to create with her staff. Once Savage had betrayed Maul by trapping him on his own ship and setting it for self-destruct, her plans for the galaxy would continue unhindered by Kycina's rebellious disposition for the Nightsisters. But to have lived for millennia and come that close to death was something Talzin didn't want to forget soon nor would she allow herself to underestimate Kycina's cunning again. After making that vow, she walked inside the bridge and saw Savage already waiting for her inside it.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"Ah Savage, so good to see you again," Talzin said. "The same formality to you, mother. You have been missed in the days since our last meeting on the surface of Dathomir," Savage replied. "Oh Savage, it is time I told you the truth: I am not just the head of the Nightsisters to you nor are you a former Nightbrother to me," she told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "You are my grandson and I am your grandmother, Savage. Why else did I take a special interest in you and your family besides your connection to the Force?" she answered. "Now it seems to be making sense to me but I don't understand," he said.

"What is there to understand besides that I am your kin as much as your mother and your brother?" she asked him."If I am indeed your grandson and Kycina is your daughter, then where are the rest of our kin?" he asked in return. "Either they hindered my plans or did me some great disrespect thus they are blessedly dead. But then could we say that for Feral?" she answered.

Savage felt no pain in that comment unless it hadn't been Talzin's intent when she mentioned his younger and weaker brother. "Is the trap ready for Maul and Kycina to fall right into it?" she asked. "Yes, all the ship's functions have been transferred into my mechanical arm. I can cause the ship to self-destruct, ray-shield all the doors, and make totally sure that only teleportation can save them from a quick, fiery death," he answered.

"Good, will there be any way to tell when the outcome of the duel will be clear or not?" she insisted. Savage nodded and activated the ship's surveillance screens including the ones in the hangar and they were honored with entertainment: Grievous and Maul had met at last. Talzin smiled, knowing that unless Maul's skill was truly powerful, it would not be enough against the four lightsabers of General Grievous. Perhaps Dooku's minions would be a use rather than a hindrance to her schemes for once.

**Grievous' spinning lightsabers began **to hurt Maul's eyes but he realized something about the cyborg's style. It was flashier than it was actual combat and if Maul could somehow eliminate the flashy element, he could defeat Grievous. Then he noticed that Grievous was about to strike from the left with his lower arm and positioned himself for defense. But instead of defense, he simply dodged the blade, severed the hand and took the lightsaber as his own.

After that, he used the Force to call the lightsaber to his free hand and activated its blue blade. Using Jar'Kai he began to see how the General faltered under his new might. "Ah your style weakens as I draw upon the power of Jar'Kai. Tell me, does Dooku really underestimate its abilities as a deadly style?" Maul mocked, knowing it would goad the General to make a mistake.

And the mistake itself didn't even take more than half a minute in the coming as he swung around with both his right arms then tried again with his left. Maul kept on the offensive after deflecting both right arms as well as the left one. Using the Force, Maul knocked Grievous to the ground and quickly disarmed him of his three remaining lightsabers. "It's over General, best prepare for your death," Maul warned.

Grievous kicked him in the gut just before Maul could strike and ran for his ship. He even went as far as to leave the droids he came with behind. On his way out, he blasted the ray shields off and activated the emergency hatch door and escaping just before it could smash his ship in closing and preventing the vortex of space from killing those in the hangar bay. "In the end, only cowards truly follow the ways of the Sith," Maul stated.

**Kycina could not find her son anywhere **no matter how hard she looked. She needed to find Maul before Talzin and Savage could do anything to him while he was vulnerable. "Mother where are you?" Maul asked through the comlink he gave her shortly before the battle had started. "Maul, I'm in hallway 456-394 looking for you," Kycina answered.

"Then you need to come to the other side of the ship, I'm just barely exiting the hangar right now," Maul said. "Good, thank you so much for telling me where you are! Now stay where you are until I arrive to rendezvous with you," Kycina demanded. "What's wrong Mom?" Maul asked.

"Talzin's aboard this ship and she's turned your brother against us. There may be an ambush waiting for you on the bridge," she answered. At first, she heard nothing from his end and she began to worry that he had already stumbled right into Talzin's trap. Then he replied, "Meet us in hallway 458 and we will all go in to face them together."

Hallway 458 wasn't far away and Kycina knew she could run there to meet up with her son. She would be her only hope if Talzin was planning to collaborate with Savage in trapping and killing him before heading back below to Dathomir. Running as fast as she could without her robes tripping her, Kycina made for the hallway as though to not do so would be to invite death. As it probably would be doing considering the situation likely to be ahead of them all.

**"We know where they're headed, **let's trap them there and teleport back to Dathomir now!" Savage demanded. "No, let them come onto the bridge then trap them like rats," Talzin said to her impatient grandson. He nodded but admitted he hated waiting for things to come to him rather than obtaining them himself. "If you are not careful, it could one day be your undoing, my grandson," she warned.

"I… understand, grandmother," he replied. "Do you really?" she asked. He shrugged and she laughed, loving the simplicity she had given Savage in place of the rebellious nature he had protecting his pathetic younger brother Feral. How she loathed remembering even the name of that weakling, how she loved remembering Savage had killed him, removing one more weakling from the Nightbrothers clan.

"That Githany girl will have to be the first to fall, after that you can do what you wish with this ship," Talzin said. Savage nodded, understanding what a hindrance her lightwhip could be to them. He didn't know what her skills could be but he didn't want to find out from the wrong end of her weapon. So he decided to stand by the side of the ship and wait until he was behind them before then striking.

**"Maul, so good to see you alive **again. You have no idea how much it pains me to know that your brother has betrayed us all," Kycina said. "We will bring him to justice for his crime together and maybe even Talzin if we are lucky," Maul replied. "Who is this Talzin character if you don't mind me asking?" Githany asked out of confusion.

"She is the head of my clan of the Nightsisters on Dathomir, she is the head witch called a Mother by her inferior sisters. But that is not all she is Maul and I," Kycina explained. Maul looked at her with about as much confusion as Githany had had when she asked about Talzin. It was then that Kycina confessed the truth of what Talzin had told her in their short duel a few minutes before.

"She has been interested in us because she is related to us by blood?" Maul asked. "Yes, she is my mother and you and Savage are her grandsons," Kycina answered. As if to ponder her words, Maul let his head drop to the floor and shook it for several seconds. "How is this possible?" he asked.

"I don't know son but nothing can change our relation to her if it is true. She has never been one to lie without a reason and I don't think she would have a reason to lie with that sort of thing," she answered. "Then let's see if we can catch that bitch and give her what for right now," Githany demanded. Laughing, Maul agreed with her on that one and even handed her the lightsaber he had taken off General Grievous to her as replacement for her lightwhip after it had been destroyed in battle.

"I hate the feel of a Jedi weapon but I think I will accept it just this once. Besides, it may be the last time I'm alive before I go back to Oblivion again," Githany said. Maul smiled at her dry sense of humor, knowing he was going to miss it if she did indeed die in battle against Savage. But would he give her a glorious death when they fought him in the hangar or would he killed her from behind?

These were questions Maul knew he would have to answer when he came to the hangar to confront his brother. Hallway 458 was not a long one and soon, Maul could see the door leading to the hangar and could see it was opened. Besides that, he could also see the ominous figure of Mother Talzin with her back facing them as if to enjoy what little view of the battle there was left. He advised caution to Githany and his mother as they approached the hangar for fear that Talzin knew they were coming and with Savage's capabilities with technology, it seemed likely.

When they were close, they could hear the faint sound of her maniacal giggle. "Traitor or no traitor, I have always admired your resilience and your ability to return swiftly for another round of ass kicking. You make an old woman proud of her daughter, Kycina," Talzin said. "I'm kind of disappointed I did that, mother," Kycina replied.

"Time and time again, I have beaten and humbled you. What makes you think this round will be any different?" Talzin asked. "Because neither I nor my son will stop until you're just a squashed bug under our heel, mother. Let's start our final fight now or are you too cowardly to accept my challenge?" Kycina answered immediately.

"Then I think it's time we put an end to this forever. Wouldn't you agree Savage?" Talzin inquired. At that remark, Savage marched from where he had stood behind them and rammed one side of his lightsaber through Githany's back. Then he yanked it out and she fell to the metal floor, instantly dead from Savage's cowardly blow. "After all I taught you, you dishonor Githany by not even giving her one last fight!" Maul shouted.

"I _only _want your head and no one else's unless they get in the way of what is rightfully mine," Savage replied. "And what is it that you claim is 'rightfully yours'?" Maul asked. "The title of Sith Master as you have grown too weak to be allowed to carry it any longer than you have," Savage answered. Then he lunged at his brother and began battering him with weighted Djem So strokes as Maul had trained him to use.

But then Talzin called to him and told him there would be another time if they survived the trap they had planned for them. Then Savage kicked Maul aside and used his mechanical arm to first close all doors then activate the ray shields that would protect them from lightsabers. He concluded their mad scheme by setting the ship to self-destruct in two minutes. "Now try to escape from this with the controls overridden if you think you can," Talzin mocked before she teleported herself and Savage away from the now-doomed ship.

"Come back here mother, come back here you cowardly bitch!" Kycina shouted. Maul had to hold her until she came to her senses then asked if she could also conduct teleportation. She nodded and did precisely that in less than half the time the ship had remaining before it's destruction. And before Maul could even blink, let alone react to it, he and his mother were on the surface of Dathomir and away from what had once been their center of command with the Sith Lords of the Brotherhood of Darkness itself.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

"The Brotherhood is dispersing and our troops are circling to round them up and take them in for Republic interrogation," Obi-Wan said. "No kill them, kill them all!" Dooku demanded. "I am a Jedi Knight, you know this doesn't go along with my Code," Obi-Wan replied. "Does it look like I care about your Code at the moment?" Dooku asked.

Obi-Wan shrugged then said, "You look ugly no matter what expression you have. Too much so to tell one apart from another." "Do not play games with me Kenobi, hand them over to me and I will execute them all," Dooku ordered. "Not a chance of that happening soon, Dooku," Obi-Wan snapped.

"Then it's war on you as well Kenobi, we must never allow them to live to threaten the galaxy again!" Dooku declared. "No Dooku, this is what Maul would want: for us to divide and fight each other instead of him! We must remain focused on him and only him," Kenobi said. "No, it's not what Maul wants: it's what Mother Talzin wants," Dooku said.

"I thought your Separatist forces killed her in your previous attack on Dathomir," Kenobi stated. "You Jedi and your pathetic intelligence networks, she is far too old to simply let herself die in one battle. She escaped Grievous before he could kill her and has been my enemy since," Dooku replied. "Well then, looks like our prisoners will have to be surrendered after all though I hate saying it," Kenobi said, clearly exasperated.

"Do not feel sorry for them Jedi, they are Sith and they are your enemies. At the moment they are also mine thus I will let you leave quietly if you wish," Dooku said. "My troops will leave but I cannot, Maul wished to meet me on Dathomir for a final duel to decide who was superior forever," Obi-Wan told him. "Then stay but do not enter the ancient city on Dathomir, its dark power will destroy you before you could reach the temple in the town square," Dooku demanded.

"I don't even know what you're talking about there, Dooku," Obi-Wan exclaimed. "In Dathomir's 'untold days' there was once a city whose name means 'Gateway to Eternal Life' in Dathomiri speech. For both Nightsister and Nightbrother, it deserved that name and for millennia, its temple was ascended by those chosen to do so for their departure to KaiSu Lak'Ton or 'World of the Goddess'. KaiSu Lak'Ton was banished to another dimension due to the evil of the Goddess that dwelled there and the 'Gateway' was buried underground until a few days ago," Dooku explained.

"Talzin brought it back up? To what end?" Obi-Wan asked. "Whatever end she means it to go, Maul and his brother Savage Opress are pawns in her game," Dooku answered. "Yes I see, well when you're done executing prisoners come meet me on the surface of Dathomir," Kenobi offered; it was an offer Dooku took him up on.

**"At last, you have come **home to us Savage. Now come and claim your prize but be careful, she has a lot of fight left in her," Talzin warned. Before Savage could say anything, Ventress ignited her lightsabers and prepared to do battle with him. "But I don't understand, if I am to bang Ventress what will happen to us both?" he asked.

"You will no longer feel those fits of lust that I know have welled up in you before with whores in other parts of the galaxy. She on the other hand, will unknowingly bear your child into this world and (hopefully) bring in a daughter to train as a Nightsister," she answered. Then she ordered him to stop talking and snapped her fingers to which Ventress responded by lunging for Savage immediately. Savage did as obeyed almost immediately and activated both sides of his double-sided lightsaber in defense initially then attack when he managed to smash through her offensive stances.

Following that, he immediately employed his skill in Djem So and soon, she was cornered against a house. It was then that he swung so hard that her lightsabers went flying out of her hands and he could safely deactivate his own. She tried to punch him but he took the swung arm and twisted it until it snapped and broke like a twig. Then he spun her around so her back faced him then threw her against the wall of the house hard enough for her to literally bounce back into his grasp. Grabbing the back of her head with his mechanical arm, he head on firmly as he rammed her face against the side of the wall with enough impact to break off a huge chunk of the wall before throwing her against the wall of another house.

He watched as she dropped like a rag doll against the red sand of their planet. At first, she made no effort to get up and considering the trauma she had endured Savage couldn't say he blamed her. Then she tried to get up and call to one of her lightsabers but her efforts at both were weak. She collapsed in her attempt to get up on one good arm and couldn't use the broken one to call out to her weapon. But Savage decided he didn't want to let her have another chance and grabbed the back of her head and slammed her face against the floor with his mechanical arm.

Lifting her up with just that same arm, he watched as she struggled faintly to escape him to no avail. Seeing her weakness, he decided she had been conquered and took her into the deserted house behind him. It was then that he proceeded to rape her while she lied helpless and felt it all happen to her. Though she wasn't watching, Talzin was pleased and soon noticed that the usually red skies began to blacken with the coming of KaiSu Lak'Ton back into its place by the side of sister Dathomir.

She also remembered how the atmosphere of KaiSu Lak'Ton was green instead of black and she knew she still had to activate the gateway at the top of the tower before the planet could fully awaken. Luckily, she could see the blue continents against the black skies and she knew that the goddess would awaken and bring back the green skies when the tower was fully activated and she could march up it to the "Sacrament Chamber" at the top. "KaiSu Lak'Ton, you are saved… at last," Talzin thought aloud. She bowed her head in prayer and began to chant in her native tongue to the Goddess that birthed her near the beginning of all life in the galaxy.

**Maul saw the walls of the raised city **and was awed by their massive and ancient design. "To think that the Nightsisters could have built this with just their magic is impressive. I wonder if I can even believe that," he said. "The Nightsisters and the Nightbrothers didn't exist when this city was invented, there was only an ancient and more menacing people with whom your grandmother shows nativity thus making you and I related to them and their Goddess," Kycina replied.

"If what she said about the Goddess existing proves to be true and so far, I've found nothing that would contradict that. What are those blue shapes in the sky?" he asked. "KaiSu Lak'Ton… no it can't be!" she answered, almost as uncertain as he was. "What, why can't it be?" he inquired.

"Only an act of lust could bring KaiSu Lak'Ton back into this dimension and only the power in the ancient 'Sacrament Chamber' can awaken the Goddess. If Talzin successfully reaches the tower, she could potentially revive her mother and begin the end of the galaxy," she explained. "An act of lust? Well Savage did mention that the witch Asajj Ventress was his mate through Selection," he stated.

"Talzin must have bent her mind to her control and had him rape her. It's the only way KaiSu Lak'Ton could have been brought back," she replied, distressed and a little frightened. "Then what are we doing talking Dathomiri history, let's get going on stopping her from reaching the top of that damn tower," he demanded. Kycina nodded in agreement and readied her staff for what could possibly be her final journey on Dathomir or anywhere else in the galaxy.

But as she reflected back on her life, she began to wonder if there was a reason besides Maul that Talzin had only banished her and not killed her when she gave her son away to the Sith. Did Talzin have some motherly love for Kycina and sympathize with her daughter although she had to punish her for her treachery? No, not likely but it did lead to another question: had Talzin been _counting _on Kycina learning the Sith magic in addition to her knowledge of Nightsister sorcery to help her meet her secret ends?

**"The tower has almost completely **come to life. Once the top level has been activated, we can journey to the top of the tower. However, I must warn you that the journey up is perilous and all your skill is required in order to survive the perils hidden within these stone walls," Talzin said. "So long as I am helping my grandmother, I am prepared to lay down my life if necessary as will my mate and slave: Asajj Ventress," Savage replied.

"Are we ready to go now Mother? I grow weary of waiting," Ventress asked. Talzin nodded and she asked both Savage and Ventress to walk in front of her as they ascended the pyramid underneath the massive tower. "During these first steps, I will need to conserve my magic but once we are inside I can use it in abundance," Talzin explained.

Savage and Ventress ignited their lightsabers and prepared to defend Mother Talzin as they ascended the steps of the pyramid. "What happens when we get to the top?" Ventress asked. "I will call upon the powers trapped in this tower and create a passage that travels through space and into KaiSu Lak'Ton," Talzin answered. "Looks like we will finally get to see your home after all," Savage said.

"But shouldn't we wait until the tower is fully activated to get the move on or does it make no difference when we go now?" Ventress asked Talzin. "It would make no difference after it came to the halfway mark but there are still defenses to face on the pyramid," Talzin answered. "I think I see some of them now," Savage said, pointing out troops situated on the steps of the pyramid. Those same troops he pointed out began to charge down the pyramid the moment Ventress and Savage took their first step on one of the stairs, firing little darts of purple energy like the Nightsisters and pointing spears, swords, and other blades at them.

Savage acted as the vanguard of the two of them while Ventress picked up any he missed and together, the two of them cut down any warrior that stood in their way. It was only when barely a fourth of the two thousand troops (and they were close to the pyramid anyhow) remained that they were allowed access to the pyramid unchallenged. "These warriors are pathetic, it's almost like they set us up for whatever is inside that old pyramid," Ventress said. "Oh they have Ventress, they have," Talzin warned.

**Once Kenobi was secured in his place **outside the city, Dooku ventured in. This was personal now that Talzin had nearly killed him thrice, the first two attempts being through Ventress and the third through the use of her ancient magic. He knew he was going to kill Talzin whether Kenobi liked it or not and maybe he would be lucky to kill Ventress too. Putting his lightsaber to his waist, he walked through the gates without fear or hesitation despite the harsh greeting the natives had given him at the gate.

But when he made it clear he was not to be trifled with, those within the walls left him alone and he walked toward the tower with the pyramid beneath it in peace. "Talzin, I'm coming for you, Ventress and that monster you created called Savage Opress. I will have my revenge against you three in person," he thought aloud and with anger in his voice as well as his heart. Clenching his fists hard, he continued his march to the tower with no personal escort but a pride that said that wasn't necessary for him to be a powerful Lord of the Sith. "Now, are those red flashes Savage and Ventress?" he asked himself. Then he told himself there was only one way to find out if that was so.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

With his link to Savage, Maul could sense where he was and knew exactly where to go in order to find him. "They're headed for the tower and are presently ascending the pyramid," he told Kycina. "I think I can get us there in a faster way but you'll have to hold on to something tightly. Very tightly because this thing is very fast," Kycina replied. Before Maul could ask her what she was talking about, she whistled towards the jungle in a tune Maul had never heard before.

It was then that a massive creature with one elongated horn on its nose came rushing out of the jungle, faster than any creature Maul had ever encountered before. "What is that thing?" Maul asked. "A childhood friend of mine, he won't harm you. He's more bark than bite around me and those who have my blood in them," Kycina said.

"What do I call it?" Maul inquired. "His name is Sparta like the ancient warriors of pre-Nightsister Dathomir," Kycina replied. "Hello Sparta, I'm Kycina's son Maul. Pleasure to meet you, I guess," Maul said, feeling a little awkward about meeting a childhood pet of his mother.

"See that city, my old friend? You're taking us to the pyramid at the center of its square," Kycina said to it. It barked a reply and submitted for Kycina and Maul to board its back. "Come, so long as I am on he can take you also," she said, extending a hand to her son. Maul took her hand, held on to her back, and prepared as the creature that was a plain blue reptile beside its size and single horn began running.

He had no idea that it could run so fast and yet it ran fast enough to nearly make his stomach roll over with speed sickness. In mere seconds, the beast reached the city and in another two seconds, it reached the pyramid. He recovered just in time to see Talzin, Savage, and Ventress about to enter the base of the tower at the top of the pyramid. "Talzin, do not enter that pyramid!" Kycina shouted.

At first, there was mere silence but Maul could pick up on Talzin laughing at them before making her reply. "You cannot stop what I must do to save our race," she told them. "Save our race from what?" Kycina shouted back. "From themselves and from our enemies outside Dathomir," Talzin replied before walking into the pyramid with Savage and Ventress following.

Maul and Kycina ran up the pyramid but the remnants of the pyramid's defenses started to attack them. It was then that Kycina snapped her fingers and the beast behind them started to attack them. As it sacrificed itself to divert the attention of the remnant, Maul and Kycina ascended the pyramid. The latter of them was reluctant to leave her friend behind but Maul reminded her that it was doing its part and they needed to do theirs.

"Besides, he's got that big horn of his. I'm pretty sure he can handle most of them himself or even all of them before he draws his last breath," he added. Then together, very slowly, they entered the tower and prepared for whatever hells lied before them. They had no idea what was waiting for them when they entered the door to the domain of the Goddess.

**At first, Ventress and Savage **were confused by the hieroglyphs and paintings along the walls of the tower. But a close look told them that these hieroglyphs were moving and the people within them were screaming in pain. "What's happening here?" Ventress asked. "Before the Goddess was created Dathomir and KaiSu Lak'Ton were worlds where the damned were banished and cursed to live out their punishments for all eternity," Talzin answered.

"And the Goddess made both worlds what they are now?" Savage asked. "Yes and if you look closely, you can see her slithering in her snake form to consume the evil of the hell and absorb it into her being," Talzin replied. Sure enough, Savage did see a gigantic snake wrapping its coil around the once-united world that would split into KaiSu Lak'Ton and Dathomir before consuming all of the evil energy through its fanged mouth. "Did absorbing the evil energy of the cosmos make her what she is now?" Ventress inquired.

Talzin nodded and said it was a small price to pay for the safety of two entire worlds. "But looking at these hieroglyphs reminds me of something I need to do before we continue. At the very least, it will slow our enemies down," she stated. She placed a finger along the painted walls, recited a few words in the ancient tongue, and watched as a green spot of her magic briefly stained the pictures but was gone almost as quickly as it had formed.

"Shall we continue on our way then?" she asked. Ventress and Savage both nodded, a reaction that pleased Talzin. "Good, now let us head for our destiny given by the Goddess long ago," she said. The stairway following the foul paintings was a long one but nothing would oppose them along the way.

**Maul and Kycina were initially **puzzled by the hieroglyphs at base of the tower but Kycina knew the history written in these and could immediately tell her son about the old ways. "Talzin means to bring back the days of her mother, the Snake Goddess Hecate who once ruled over both these planets with coils stronger than durasteel. If she succeeds, it could mean the end of your galaxy seeing that she has an army more immense than even any army the Republic and the CIS could accumulate in all their years of existence," she explained with fear mounting in her voice. "But if the Goddess was so powerful, how come she couldn't escape KaiSu Lak'Ton and continue her reign of terror in person instead of sending Talzin to do her dirty work?" Maul asked.

"Because once confined to a planet, a god only has the power to send their children in their stead unless they too are banished to the planet. And do not heed what Talzin says about being named after her mother, she likes to use that for bragging rights seeing as she was the oldest of Hecate's daughter and the only one sent," Kycina answered. Maul understood knowing how his former master had been similar in his desire for bragging rights in a manner of speaking. How it disgusted him to remember such times as the days when he served the tyrannical and oppressive Darth Sidious himself.

But soon his thoughts were taken off those horrid times in his life when the figures on the hieroglyph walked towards the wall and literally climbed out of them via a green wall that animated them when they stepped through. All of them were so thin that their entire skeleton could be seen, even their pelvic bones, and all of them had skin paler grey than campfire smoke. Some had scars along their bodies and others had dislocated or broken limbs while others still could barely crawl, let alone walk due to how bent their backs had become. Maul activated his lightsaber to fight them as they came to attack him but Kycina stopped him before he could harm them further than they already had been in damnation.

"Not all things can be solved by muscle and lightsaber alone," she said before demonstrating what she meant. Her staff glowed an orange light and Maul realized that according to ancient scrolls, orange was the light for healing in the days of these souls. Thus, he deactivated his lightsaber and watched what she had to say to them if anything. "I free you from whatever torments you experienced in your cruel afterlife, go and be at peace forevermore," she told them in the kind healing voice of a true mother.

At first, it seemed as though the souls would burn up from those words but all the grey skin melted away as did the damage done to their bodies. In the place of that rose white, transparent figures that thanked Kycina for what she had done before floating toward the vault of Dathomir's skies. After those souls left, Kycina went to the wall and saw what Talzin had done: she had used the walls to penetrate across space and time in order for the souls of the dead to come and haunt her and her son on their way to stop her and her possessed companions. Kycina tapped the orange glowing part of her staff against the wall and the green barrier shattered like glass, closing the portal through time and space once again.

"This way no more of the damned souls of that ancient day can again hinder us," she explained to Maul, who asked what she was doing. "Just out of curiosity, will I ever have to use my lightsabers while we ascend this tower?" Maul added with a smile Kycina knew was meant to tease. "So long as I know which spells work on which demons in this tower and you stay with me, not at all," she answered, pinching his cheek as she spoke. He smiled back and followed behind his mother as they ascended the tower, proud and bold in each other's presence.

**When Dooku came upon the pyramid, **he couldn't believe the mess he was seeing. Dead warriors lied everywhere and there was an ugly looking beast in the middle that looked like it had picked a fight with the warriors. Its body was mostly plain except for a great big horn stick out of the top of its wide nose. Walking past it, he saw the door at the top of the pyramid that led into the bottom of the tower and knowing there was no other way besides back he entered the tower.

Talzin and Ventress were not the only ones he wished to exact revenge against. Savage and Maul were also on his hit list due to their temporary alliance with Deathwatch and an attempt all three had made on his life at Serenno. While Savage had dueled with Grievous Maul and Governor Vizla united their skills to face Dooku in combat. Vizla was decapitated but Maul survived the fight, nearly succeeding in defeating Dooku before Kenobi and Skywalker intervened.

The battle had brought about the capture of Serenno by Republic hands and even with Grievous helping, Dooku had barely escaped the clone hordes with his life. Now, he lived in Raxus, home of the Separatist Parliament and Capital of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Serenno, though less so than Raxus, was one of the most fortified systems in the CIS and Dooku knew that it was only a matter of time before the Republic liberated all the systems around Serenno and cornered the Separatists at their capital. Still, the idea of taking out his revenge on Talzin, Maul, Savage, and Ventress before the Republic destroyed his organization would make Dooku feel satisfied with life and content to let his existence end at the hands of the Jedi.

"I'm coming for you Talzin, you and your three pawns. And I won't stop until I have killed you all, slowly, painfully, and with great pleasure on my part," he thought aloud. With lightsaber in hand, he marched into the pyramid to follow the quad of enemies he sought to destroy forever. If only he had gone in there with an idea of the perils that the magic of the ancient peoples had to throw at them all.

**"Masters, I report with success **in the mission to destroy the fleet rumored to have been under Maul's authority," Kenobi said to Mace and Yoda. "This is a great day for the Republic, you should be proud of yourself," Windu said. "Yes I am but the Sith aren't the only thing we have to worry about," Obi-Wan replied. When Yoda and Windu said nothing, Obi-Wan explained grimly.

He told them about how Maul had been betrayed by Savage on orders from Mother Talzin. Additionally, he told them of the ancient city raised out of the ground and even showed the gates at which he stood. Finally, he told of how Dooku had gone in after the four natives of Dathomir but hoped Maul was victorious against Talzin and Savage. "If he fails then Dooku's success within the tower won't matter unless he can stop Talzin from unlocking whatever is on this KaiSu Lak'Ton place," he concluded. "May the Force be with Maul and Dooku as much as it is very hard to find them as the only hope for Dathomir and possibly the whole galaxy," Windu declared to Yoda's surprising approval of it.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Soon we will be reaching the one place in this tower where we can ascend the tower unopposed. It is a massive shaft that takes us up about halfway and ends when we have come to the worst of this tower's evils. But compared to KaiSu Lak'Ton, this will be nothing. Once I activate the bridge connecting the two planets, this tower will truly come to life as will the power within this city as KaiSu Lak'Ton fills it with dark energy," Talzin said.

"Finally, some peace after all those demons we confronted getting up to this point and I thought the fun was getting started," Ventress stated. "You're not far from the truth my slave: the party has not even begun," Savage replied. "Better trust him on this one, dear Ventress. He may not know this place as well as I do but he knows enough not to underestimate its significance to us," Talzin agreed.

She typed in a code next to the door and watched as it opened for them to use it for their purposes. "And once we arrive at the tower's top, what will Ventress and I do?" Savage asked. "You two will keep guard and fight Maul, Kycina, and whatever else may be following us if necessary. I must have unbroken concentration to complete the incantation that will channel the energy of the Sith souls into fully reviving the city's power. It will also create a magical bridge that will cut through the atmosphere of our planet until it touches that of KaiSu Lak'Ton and create a portal by which once can travel to and from it as they ascend the bridge," Talzin answered.

"Can you travel inside the bridge through space without feeling the effects of the vacuum?" Savage inquired. "The bridge was never used to transport anything besides ships and soldiers on KaiSu's end but considering how well those survived, I don't see why not," Talzin replied. "Space travel should be interesting with that kind of bridge surrounding us to protect against the space vacuum," Ventress stated. "Though considerably primitive now, it was a very effective means of transportation seeing as our ships would never get through the atmosphere without combusting and imploding," Talzin agreed.

"Magic is magic, it doesn't change with the times its wielders live in. Thus, the technology created by it is never primitive seeing as it can always function even when modern science does not," Ventress snapped. "That is somewhat true but why do you think mortals created their technology?" Talzin asked her. "Jealousy of what wielders of magic could create compelled them to attempt rivaling them and truly, their attempts were rather phenomenal for having no power of their own," Savage answered, remembering the histories the Nightbrothers were taught in what little education they actually received.

"Very good Savage, envy can be a powerful ally or a painful enemy at its very own whim. Just like any other emotion such as love, hate, anger, greed, and most definitely lust," Talzin complimented. "But in this case, lust is our ally seeing as it aided KaiSu Lak'Ton in finding its way back home where it belongs," Savage reminded. Talzin nodded and watched as they ascended the shaft at a decent rate though it began to make her impatient to reach the top.

She just had to get there before Kycina and Maul caught up with her then their attempts to end her life wouldn't matter anymore. After that, she would be restored to the immortal and invincible deity she once had been before her mother sent her into this galaxy to restore KaiSu Lak'Ton and its people to the glory they lost. And if the Goddess felt truly rewarding, perhaps she would let Talzin rule over the galaxy as its queen while the rest of the universe was strictly for the Goddess herself and no other. Smiling at the foreseeable completion of her desires, Talzin silently thanked Savage and Ventress for being the best pawns she ever had.

** Kycina and Maul reached** an elevator shaft after dealing with several demons Talzin sent to confront them from damned souls to monstrous flesh-eating giants that had no sentience whatsoever. Most were soothed to peace by her voice and her healing magic but Maul did have to use his lightsaber to put a few out of their misery. "I really wish they'd let us heal them, it's all I mean to do after all," Kycina stated after he brought down three bloodthirsty giants. "Some evil beings in this galaxy can never be purified by the goodness of a mother's heart; I ought to know, you gave me to one of them," Maul replied.

"You know, I can never forgive myself for doing that for as long as I am alive," Kycina said. Maul hugged her and reminded her not to blame herself about what happened to him after she gave him away. Then he typed in a code to activate the elevator and stepped through the door when it opened. "Hopefully Talzin is not too far ahead of us, I'd hate to fight any more creatures she can conjure from mere wall paintings and pictures of ancient times," Maul said.

"And I think I'm running out of patience to sooth the bulk of them and put them to rest forever," Kycina agreed. "Hopefully it won't be too much longer before we encounter her and beat their asses to the hell they want to bring back here. Especially that treacherous brother of mine and our grandmother Talzin," Maul vowed. "Let's hope we're not too late before we reach them, my son," Kycina said after pausing in silence for a long moment.

They boarded the elevator and ascended the shaft that took them halfway up the tower without threat or peril from the dangers lurking within. "So who was this Darth Vitiate character that destroyed the woman you loved?" Kycina asked Maul. "A very powerful Sith Lord whose lifespan has lasted nearly five thousand years and had cunning to match," Maul answered. "Did you manage to actually kill him seeing as no one in that five millennia did?" she asked to which he nodded in reply.

** "Soon we will reach the Sisters** of Judgment who will test our worthiness to enter. If we all are worthy, we will pass but if even one of us proves unworthy then we will have to fight," Talzin said. "And if we prove ourselves, isn't there something they will give us?" Savage asked. "Yes: their axes which will help us access the rest of the tower as keys rather than weapons," Talzin answered.

She also added that if they didn't prove worthy, they would attempt to give them their deaths at the wrong end of those axes. "They will fall beneath my lightsaber if they dare try anything of that sort," Savage stated. "Though they are not immune to its painful effects, these soldiers of the Goddess cannot be killed or stopped for long by any weapon you know how to wield. Only my magic will subdue them into submission long enough for you and Ventress to steal their axes away and then kill them," Talzin replied.

"Excellent strategy Mother, we will do our best not to fail you," Ventress said. "No, we _won't _fail you even if we don't do our best," Savage interjected. "I admire your passion, now let us begin. Look at the statues ahead for they are the entombment of these two warriors," Talzin stated. _Those who trespass on sacred ground must feel the wrath of Pain and Sorrow_ said a female voice that seemed to come from the statue on the right.

_You are right sister, our job is to guard the final levels of this tower and the gateway to KaiSu Lak'Ton. We cannot let these intruders pass through this door _another voice said in agreement with the first. "Are they that quick to pass judgment upon us, Mother?" Savage asked in a hushed voice. "They sensed our combined presences long before we even entered this room," Talzin answered with the same whisper.

Ventress was the first to activate her lightsabers, followed by Savage while Talzin used her magic to create a weapon for herself. When Savage looked at it, she was wielding an ax that matched the one she gave him before he met Count Dooku and became his apprentice. In addition, she also changed her regular robes for battle armor that was crossed with rows of spikes across all plates from her gauntlets to her shin guards. She even had some on the knuckles of her already deadly gauntlets.

The shoulder attachments she bore in her regular robes were also replaced by more lethal mounts on her shoulders that would cut anything they touched. "You impudent judges of the Goddess, bow down before her daughter!" she shouted. _We know who you are Talzin but the Goddess has decreed that not even a child of hers may pass these gates without proving themselves first. For how can we know that a child of hers has returned to free our mistress even when she says she has a kinship to the Goddess? _the first voice asked her.

"You _will_ be made to submit before me Pain as will you Sorrow if you do not do so now," Talzin hissed. _If that is the will of the Goddess _Pain replied too calmly for Savage to remain at ease. "Ventress, take the one called Sorrow while I deal with the one called Pain," he said to Ventress. They broke off to directly confront each of the assigned terror so Talzin could flank either one of the creatures made from ancient stone.

From there, it was easy to destroy the two Judges of the Goddess when Talzin's ax was soon discovered to cut through the stone with ease. "Now sisters, bow before the daughter of the Goddess for I do not even need to fight you myself in order to destroy you. For what it's worth, I don't think you could destroy my companions let alone me, Talzin of the Goddess," she said when the two stone figures were on their knees. _Very well, we will not defy the daughter of the Goddess in her journey to resurrect our world _Pain said.

Then both handed over their axes to Ventress and Savage before disintegrating into dust. _All who carry your blood will be allowed to pass but no one else unless they are in your company like the woman you call Ventress _Sorrow said, indicating a curse before they disappeared. "Thank you servants of the Goddess for your service even if it was somewhat troubling," Savage said out of respect. "You pay respect to anyone who puts up a good fight don't you?" Talzin asked him.

"Why not? I paid respects to the bounty hunters Embo and Sugi after I mutilated them. The only one I didn't pay respects for was my first Jedi kill: that annoying Togruta bitch who always accompanied Kenobi and his friend Skywalker," Savage answered, surprised she would ask this of him. He added that the only reason he didn't was because she was the one who distracted him when Kenobi cut off his left arm.

"Shall we continue now that I have collected the weapons I need for the continuation of our journey?" Talzin asked after changing out of her battle armor and collecting the fallen blades. Savage nodded as did Ventress shortly before they saw the once-guarded gate open for them as if beckoning them to continue on. Talzin smiled and was the first to step through with Savage and Ventress both following on her heel and willing to aid her whenever it was absolutely necessary.

** Dooku had just barely arrived** to the elevator shaft after admiring the hieroglyphs on the walls around him. Any history he could see with his own eyes was one he enjoyed but he found it disappointing that some of the figures meant to be souls were missing. Perhaps it was damage from being underground for so long, perhaps it was something else but who knew? "Sidious would be most interested by what I have seen here if I could show him," he thought aloud since there was no one around to hear him.

But having his mental fill of the history of Dathomir for the moment, he typed in a code and opened the door to the elevator. Then he ascended like everyone else who had come this way before him. Keeping his lightsaber close at hand, he made sure to be prepared for any trap; after all, he was going after the woman who once attempted to assassinate him through her witchcraft.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

When Maul and Kycina were approaching the Hall of the Sisters of Judgment, they sensed no presence. In fact, they wondered if Talzin had destroyed the Sisters before they arrived and had their suspicions confirmed by two massive piles of sand that were slowly blowing away. "She probably had Savage and Ventress distract them while she fatally wounded them from the flanks," Maul said. "How can you tell just from a pile of sand?" Kycina asked.

"The Sisters were created from the sand of KaiSu Lak'Ton which is a shade of pale brown that exists nowhere else in the universe. I have seen this shade nowhere else in the galaxy and I have been to many alternate versions _of _this galaxy and I have never seen it in all my travels," Maul explained, pointing out the very pale brown color. "Good point, now can we move on before your grandmother brings hell to this version of the galaxy?" Kycina asked, her questions answered with those comments. Maul nodded in reply and took the lead in entering the door that the Sisters of Judgment once guarded from intruders such as themselves.

By the time they came to another door, they already saw that one of the axes the Sister wielded had already been used to open it. Both knew it wouldn't be long before the other one was used as well and both began to run as fast as they could despite Kycina having the disadvantage of limited, biological legs against Maul's mechanical, stronger ones. "Wait for me son, you have the advantage and I'm not in my prime like I used to be when I met your father!" she shouted at one point while racing toward the top. Maul ran back, threw her over his shoulder and resumed running toward their final destiny at the tower's highest peak.

"Is this really necessary?" Kycina asked. "Only way to get you to keep up the pace without wasting any of your magic before the final fight," Maul answered. "I suppose you're right but I'm not some doting princess. Teleportation means little as far as my reservoirs of magic go," she told him.

Maul shrugged, put her back down, and continued running while she teleported to keep up with him since running wouldn't work. Plus there was no way she wanted to go back over Maul's shoulder as though she had been wounded in action. In fact, she made a deal with him explicitly forbidding any carrying except when she was wounded or exhausted from the use of magic. It was a deal Maul agreed to with a smile on his face and a chuckle emanating from his throat.

** Savage plunged the second ax** taken from the Sisters of Judgment into the slot he had seen with the first one and twisted it toward him like before. After that, he watched as the final gate to the top of the tower opened for use by him, Talzin, and Ventress as they ascended to where they would reawaken KaiSu Lak'Ton. Savage could sense the life ebbing from the top of the tower and was pleased to know that victory was close at hand. Ventress felt it as well though she was initially reluctant to proceed unlike Savage or Talzin.

"Why do you fear the eternity offered by the Goddess? Do you prefer the bitter taste of death that would await the end of a mortal life?" Talzin asked her. "Sometimes, death is better," Ventress answered. "I think she's trying to break free from your control of her," Savage stated.

Talzin scoffed at that remark and merely grabbed Ventress' head, electrocuted her with more green lightning, then released and watched as Ventress dropped to the cold stone floor beneath their feet. "That will crush any further resistance to the will of the Goddess for now," she said before Ventress rose back up. "Or is it to your will, grandmother?" Savage asked her. Talzin merely sneered at him and marched on, this time not expecting either one of her pawns to follow her after this.

But they did all the same, Savage because he had nowhere else to go now that he had betrayed his brother and mother but Ventress because she had no choice. So long as she remained under the influence of Mother Talzin, she would always be broken into submission and made a puppet of the daughter of the Goddess. Not even Count Dooku promised such a one-ended deal with as massive a lack of freedom as what Talzin was forcing her to accept. And watching her be broken so easily stirred pity in Savage as he remembered when she was strong enough to control him during his days as the executioner of her will during her feud with Dooku.

"How much longer before we reach the peak of the tower, grandmother?" he asked. "Now it is only a short walk up a spiraling passage and a small flight of stairs before we reach a flat pavilion with the necessary machinations for my magic in the very center of it," Talzin answered. "Savage and I will protect you while you activate it," Ventress stated, her loyalty ensured by Talzin's regular bursts of energy that weakened her mind's ability to resist. "Good, it is precisely all I need you two for before we all share with the power of the Goddess and rule over this universe as fellow Lords of Chaos and Oblivion!" Talzin exclaimed, proud to be the daughter of the Goddess as always.

And Savage was relieved to see that she had not lied about the spiraling passage or the brief staircase before the flat platform that was the roof of the tower. "Do you see that red circle in the middle?" Talzin asked Savage. He nodded and asked why she inquired that of him. "It is where I begin conducting my spells to channel the power of the Brotherhood of Darkness to both revive KaiSu Lak'Ton and bring this city back to its former glory as a place where your darkest fears and hatreds take shape and form against you," she explained.

Savage didn't like the sound of that and hoped that he didn't have to be put against those dark powers. But he knew he had what it took to overcome it all if he ever did have to. There were very few things that he actually feared now that he had rid himself of his family and found a new goal for himself at Talzin's side. "Now to begin the spell and finally exact revenge upon the rest of the galactic filth," Talzin said before working her magic.

**"How much longer before** we reach the top of the tower?" Maul asked. "From the feel of it, we're not that far off from where Talzin, Savage, and Ventress stood just moments ago. Can't you feel the searing heat of the Dark Side burning at your flesh?" Kycina replied. Maul nodded and knew she was right about being close to the tower's summit.

"Be on your guard, your grandmother is the reason Savage betrayed us and tried to kill us both," she warned. Then they slowly continued up the spiraling shaft that led to the final summit. Maul reached for the hilt of his lightsaber at his waist and unclipped it, holding onto it as they ascended. He knew full well that he would have to fight Savage again and this time, he would not relent until he punished the traitor fully for his treachery.

At last, Maul would reveal his true power to his brother which was something he never did before. At last, Maul was about to begin Savage's true training in the ways of the Sith. _Something Savage never understood is that when the apprentice betrays the Master, he must have the ability to actually do it instead of fail at it_ Maul thought to himself. It was the least he could do to remind him of his greatest failure: his own brother, Savage.

Savoring the moment, Maul and Kycina walked slowly up the staircase that led to their final destiny in battle against Ventress, Savage, and Talzin. "Hello mother, remember me?" Kycina asked when their trio of enemies was in sight. "Ventress, Savage, dispose of these annoyances while I finish this last little incantation," Talzin ordered quickly. Savage charged first as usual and headed for Kycina but Maul intercepted almost immediately.

And just as Maul did that, Kycina moved in for the kill by running toward Talzin with her staff extended in front of her. But Ventress, under Talzin's spell, ran to intercept her long before she could reach her target. Kycina quickly transformed her staff into a long-handled lightsaber and briefly exchanged blows with the younger warrior though she was clearly the superior of them. She drove Ventress near the edge of the tower then made for Talzin yet again, stating she didn't want to fight Ventress nor did she have any quarrel with the woman.

But Ventress returned and it was then that Kycina recognized the glow of possession within Ventress' eyes. She knew exactly what to do from there, having worked on curing mental dominance of all kinds. "I release you from Mother Talzin's influence on your mind!" she shouted just before throwing an explosive charm at Ventress' face. The impact threw the former Dark Jedi over the edge of the tower, never again to oppose Kycina in her lust for revenge against her evil mother.

"If it's all the same to you, I finished the spell I was conducting and can now face you while the revival of this city and KaiSu Lak'Ton commences. Your vengeance makes little if any difference now," Talzin stated with a smile. "I am more powerful than I have ever been before and the last time we truly fought each other, you barely managed to hold your own," Kycina replied. "Funny, that's not how I would remember it," Talzin hissed.

Then she hurled a flurry of green lightning at her daughter, who used the gem of her staff to absorb it effortlessly. "Allow me to refresh your memory, dear mother," Kycina said before reflecting the lightning back at Talzin. Talzin conjured a telekinetic barrier to deflect it as she had no way of absorbing it back then launched another barrage of lightning only to be met with the same result. "If only you hadn't banished me, I entertained myself by learning the Sith's alchemy and sorcery as well as the healing arts before I began to go insane," Kycina mocked while watching her mother start to seethe with rage and hate.

**Savage attacked with the full might** of his Djem So useage and Maul countered with his knowledge of Juyo in their fierce duel against one another. "You know something Savage? When you're going to betray your Sith master, you need to actually kill him instead of just set a trap and hope it destroys him for you!" Maul shouted. "Funny, it would have worked if Kycina had no knowledge of teleportation or wasn't powerful enough to bring you down here," Savage replied.

"How pathetic that you have to resort to that in order to assassinate me! I wonder if you ever would if Talzin hadn't prompted you to do it," Maul hissed. "Even if she hadn't I wouldn't remain your dog forever, in time, I would gain the strength to betray and murder you anyhow," Savage stated. "And I'm not the only one you betrayed: you also betrayed our mother!" Maul added.

"She betrayed _me_ when she chose _you_, brother. You were always the more special of the two of us anyway. I recall days where she would just stare at a window after Feral and my father had fallen asleep and I would ask her why she did that. She always said that it was because she was looking for a lost member of the family," Savage told him.

Maul didn't need him to say anymore in order to deduce that he was the one she was always looking for amongst the stars. "She even once said, 'I always wonder where your brother is, if he's safe and warm and happy'. Rarely did she ever ask me if I was happy, warm, and safe!" Savage added randomly. "So you want to prove you're better than me?

"Well it's not going to happen, not like this!" Maul replied before continuing the duel. Savage continued to use Djem So until he felt Maul's superior use of Juyo was going to mean the end of him. Then he surprised his brother with a switch to the use of both sides of his lightsaber. After that, it became more of a stalemate as Maul quickly recovered from the surprise and returned to his punishing use of Juyo against his own brother. It was a duel neither of them wanted to lose with the stakes being too high. The Goddess was going to be either revived or destroyed and that would be determined by this fight.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

"You taught me a lot about Nightsister magic and while I was in exile, I discovered that Sith alchemy and Nightsister sorcery aren't that far apart. But of course, the Sith do have some differences I'm going to show you in a couple seconds," Kycina stated. "No matter how powerful you become, daughter, you'll never stop the revival of your grandmother and the annihilation of everything you hold closest to your heart!" Talzin replied before creating an energy orb in front of herself and levitating into the air. As she did this, the skies of Dathomir began to cover themselves with thunderclouds and rain.

KaiSu Lak'Ton could still be seen through all of this and Kycina watched as the green circle Talzin had lit began to grow wider and wider. She knew that if it engulfed the bigger black circle around it, KaiSu Lak'Ton could be revived but didn't know of a way to stop it except to kill Talzin. The old hag made the first move when she used the elements to shoot green lightning down from the sky. "Now I will show you the true power of a daughter of the Snake Goddess, Hecate!" she shouted from above.

"Wow, I'm disappointed already," Kycina replied after deflecting a few bolts of lightning she didn't dodge. Then she made the emerald on her staff glow a bright blood-red before tapping the butt of it against the hard stone ground beneath her. "Darth Zannah employed this magic when she murdered her Master, Lord Bane. Shall we use this to test the truth of whether or not Nightsister shamans are immortal _and _invincible?" Kycina asked as eight ink-black tentacles emerged from the ground and searched for their enemy.

She guided three towards Talzin in a manner that would direct her to the other five instead of away from them. Then, when her mother had successfully fallen into the trap, she guided them all to converge on her. Kycina knew that those tentacles would slice through anything and melt it away as she had already seen with a few of the pillars at the edge of the platform. But at the last moment, Talzin teleported away from them and back to where she had been when Kycina started her fierce attack.

Angered but not entirely at a loss for what to do, Kycina began to twirl and spin her staff in her hands and as she did so the tentacles began to converge on each other. They tangled and melted into another form until at last, they became one massive ball of death and destruction that Kycina could use at her will. "You were lucky to get out of that trap but let's see if you can escape this!" she shouted before pointing her staff at Talzin and watching as the ball rolled toward her. The witch responded to this attack by engulfing it in green electricity then using the Force to throw it in a whole other direction.

But Kycina saw her intent before she could complete it and directed the ball right back at her shortly after having her arm pulled in that same direction. Talzin teleported out of the way and tried again to push it beyond Kycina's reach but to no avail did it work. Finally, Talzin tried to see if she could destroy it with her typical green lightning but instead, she only pushed it further from herself. Kycina countered by pointing the staff in her direction and pushing it as hard as she could so as to guide the ball right at Talzin.

** "Look around you, my brother.** Can't you see that it's hopeless to fight the return of the Snake Goddess to this dimension?" Savage asked. "Neither mother nor I will quit so long as we can draw a breath, besides, why the hell would our grandmother share the powers of the Goddess with scum like you?" Maul answered. "Because I served her well and thoroughly whereas you tried to resist at every end possible," Savage replied.

"That's your reason for demanding that she share with _you_, a man? She hates men and she always will, she only used you because you were too dumb to think for yourself after she used her magic on you. And she only directed you to me so that you could serve her better with the skills I would teach you," Maul snapped. Savage had nothing to say there but continued to switch from the use of both sides of his lightsaber to his skills in Djem So instead.

Darth Maul pressed his attack and even turned to using some of his Soresu knowledge against his brother. It was the only way to keep himself from exhausting without drawing on the same power his brother was attempting to use against him. Though he found it difficult to do so, Maul eventually got the hang of not relying on what he had used all his life to conquer his enemies: the energy of the Dark Side and its promise of eternal nourishment. But nothing in his life, be it training by his master or turning away from the Dark Side, prepared him for what was going to happen next.

**Kycina kept pressing her attack** on her mother who was slowly beginning to tire and relent in her vicious attacks. Then Talzin did something Kycina never expected of her: she conjured an energy ball of her own and used it to attack the one Kycina had made to destroy her. Both balls met, temporarily locked themselves in a tug for superior power over each other. However, even with both Kycina and Talzin using their willpower to see that their energy weapon won the battle, both balls of Force energy were destroyed in an explosion that lit the skies for several seconds or more.

Talzin dropped from her hover in the sky and panted but Kycina dropped to one knee in further exhaustion than Talzin ever was. "Looks like I win this round my daughter, now die!" Talzin said before using the Force to through her daughter over the edge of the tower and back into the main city. Then she turned her sights toward her grandsons who were still crossing blades fiercely. It was upon sight of Savage's impressive skills that she began to applaud their work.

The applause became even firmer when she noticed that the black circle in the ground was almost completely engulfed in a green light. "Bravo my grandchildren, bravo. I never dreamed you could make me so proud of you both! Well done, well done," she said. Savage looked at her, deactivated his lightsaber, and asked what she was talking about. "Only one thing she could be talking about: she's been using both you and I as pawns since she learned of our existence; hell, she may be the reason I'm still alive after what Obi-Wan did to me," Maul interjected.

"Yes Maul, you catch on more quickly than your brother in these intricate matters. Through Plagueis, I gave you a serum that would allow you to tap deeply enough into the Dark Side to survive an injury such as that because I still had use for you. I sent Savage after you when the time was right because I sensed that I would be needing your skill in battle sooner than I had hoped," Talzin admitted. "But what about your promise to share the power of the Goddess with me, are you not keeping that promise?" Savage inquired.

Talzin laughed, remembering she had promised that of her youngest living grandson. "Savage, I never intended to keep that promise to begin with. I'm surprised you were idiotic enough to believe my words but I did keep up on my promise that you and your brother had an important destiny to fulfill. The revival of KaiSu Lak'Ton and the destruction of the galaxy was precisely it and for helping me fulfill this, I truly thank you," she replied when she could breath once more.

Savage looked shocked, betrayed even, but Talzin had no interest in how her grandson felt at this point. "Thank you Savage and you Maul for what you've done to help me. Now join your mother in being destroyed by the evils of this city. I'm sure you'll all find it very entertaining just before you are consumed by the damning fires of the ancient inferno this place once was for the galaxy," she added. Then she gathered what remaining power she could use and sent a powerful wave at both of her grandsons, throwing them off the tower along with their mother who had been thrown over the near-completely opposite side of her sons.

"Just wait, wait for the rebirth of the Goddess then I will rule the wasteland this galaxy will become after making what life remains my slave! I will become the galaxy, I will become life and death for every creature here with no one to stop my rise now!" she thought aloud. Then the black in the circle disappeared completely and the whole platform lit up, souls of the Brotherhood oozing their way down to the city as it began to engulf the tower. She decided she would let the weakest ones go to reviving the city as a massive quantity of souls was necessary but the most powerful ones would go to reviving KaiSu Lak'Ton.

While the soldiers of the Brotherhood and lesser Sith lords descended, she channeled the power of the most powerful souls from Kaan to Githany, and then cast them into oblivion. She used their power to create a beam that successfully hit KaiSu Lak'Ton's atmosphere. The result was the return of the beautiful green skies that had been a part of her early childhood as well as a bridge that connected the two worlds and almost began to bring them closer and closer together. Unless Kycina and her children survived and returned here, there would be nothing to oppose the reunion of the two planets and the full restoration of the Goddess' powers.

Talzin's only true worry was that one or both of her grandsons survived and brought their mother to oppose her. If the trio returned, it could mean the death of the Goddess, the destruction of KaiSu Lak'Ton, and her demise. She had lived far too long to allow herself to be defeated by her own scions just because they loved their galaxy too much to let it die for her race to live forever. This path and this path alone was the righteous one to follow and soon even the Jedi and their Sith enemies would know the truth that was the Snake Goddess Hecate.

** Dooku was at an impasse:** he couldn't find a way around a barrier preventing him from ascending any further but he couldn't turn back either. He decided to meditate and see if there was a weakness he could reach out and exploit just as he heard a noise coming from the balcony behind him. With the hilt of his lightsaber in his hand, he went to investigate what it was. He was baffled to see the unconscious (but living) Asajj Ventress on the ground with both of her lightsabers next to each of her sides.

Scratching his head, he wondered what he should do seeing that Ventress tried to kill him and here she was in this vulnerable state between life and death themselves. As if to answer the question for him, she awoke, rubbed her head and saw him. "What are you doing here, Dooku?" she asked, her lightsabers ready for the offensive. "Why, pursuing you, Savage, and Talzin, of course," he answered.

"You won't be getting past that door if there's a curse on it. Now that I think of it, there should be but details are fuzzy," she said. "Why would they be fuzzy, you were with her the whole way up this wretched thing!" Dooku inquired. "She had me under some sort of spell that would erase my memory of everything that happened if I were ever freed of it," Ventress explained.

"I can't afford to trust you on that, after all, you _were _willingly in league with her at one point. Why should I believe what you say now?" he asked. "Because after you destroyed my clan on Dathomir, Talzin abandoned me and forced me to find a new life as a mercenary. When I came back here, I tried to find out why and she attacked me and knocked me out cold," she answered.

"I'm feeling generous Ventress: fight and defeat me in a lightsaber duel. If you win, I will believe you and ask what would be the explanation for the curse on the door. But if you lose, you will be under Separatist custody for as long as I command," Dooku said. Knowing she probably didn't have any other choice but to decide, she agreed to his deal and hoped that the duel would help her regain her memories of Talzin's possession over her.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

When Maul recovered from the fall off the tower, he looked around and saw nothing but sheer darkness around him. It lied in front of him, beside him, behind him, and beneath him thus making him vulnerable to anything in it along with him. Using his lightsaber, he tried to see if he could somehow illuminate the shadows around him but a voice called to him, too mutely for him to initially understand but loud enough for him to notice. "Who's there?" he shouted in the darkness surrounding him.

_Maul… Maul… I call to you… you will save us all… Arras Käsi _it whispered just barely enough for him to hear. "Arras Käsi… I've heard of that phrase. And I am by no means a Chosen One prophesied to save the galaxy," he said, trying to encourage who or whatever it was to come closer to him and become more visible to his eyes. _But what makes you… that is true_ it asked tauntingly.

"What makes me so certain it's true? Because the Arras Käsi, Chosen One, or whatever you want to call it is a myth," he replied immediately. _Is this… a myth? And I… the tower… myth too _the voice retorted with some frustration.

"Whoever or whatever you are, show yourself now! I demanded to know what you're doing here and why you proclaim me the Arras Käsi," Maul shouted. _Because it… your… according to… prophecy _it said back at him. "It's my destiny according to an ancient prophecy of Dathomir's salvation or its destruction, is that it?" Maul asked.

_Yes, it is _it answered. "Finally, a whole sentence that isn't fragmented. Maybe you're closer to my position than I thought you were," he said to the voice. _I am here, I am there, I am everywhere and nowhere at once._

_ I am the past, I am the present, and I am the future and I am oblivion at once_ it said. "I'm guessing you're a woman from the sound of your voice, is that safe to assume?" Maul asked. _How shortsighted you are, mortal man. I am man and woman, I am mortal and immortal, I am everything and nothing at once and soon, you will know and become everything and nothing too _the voice told him.

Maul was driven to one final question, hoping to gain some clarity over what it was he was facing before it tried anything that would provoke him to attack it. "Then why are you here if you are here, there, and everywhere at once?" he asked. _I am here because you are here, Maul _the voice answered calmly. Then the source stepped into the glow of his lightsaber and revealed itself to be Ophelia or at least an illusion of her.

"No, not you! There's no way you can be here on Dathomir and in this dark place," Maul exclaimed in shock. _The Force has a way of making the impossible possible and death but an eternal awakening from the dream that is life _she replied. "But how would you know of the Dathomiri prophecy of the Arras Käsi if all you know of Dathomir came from me when you were alive and I never told you about the prophecy?" he inquired.

_The Force gives me all the knowledge I need for in one way or another, all species, all cultures, all dimensions connect back with the Force. You should remember that from when we went to fight my brother on Heraklion Prime shortly before my untimely demise _she explained. "I delved so deeply into the Dark Side just to avenge your death when I saw it happen. It was then that I knew I had failed you and lost myself to the Dark Side of the Force," he stated, tears approaching the front of his eyes.

_Deactivate your lightsaber and I will guide you through this darkness for I know it better than you could possibly imagine _she said. "What _is _this darkness?" he asked. _It is the darkness of your fears Maul, your insecurity about yourself and your anxieties spread far and wide enough to consume you if you let it _she answered in that same kind tone. He deactivated his lightsaber and watched as her form began to glow with a bright white light that illuminated much of the darkness immediately around them to reveal a stone floor in a building that was undoubtedly part of the city itself.

_The path I will take you on leads to a gate that cannot be opened by your lightsaber or by any Force power you can conjure. Instead, it can only be opened if you embrace your fears, let them go, and watch as they fall and die behind you forever unless you wish to test the depths of the Dark Side _she stated when they got going. "I think I understand what you mean for me to do and I will guarantee only that I'll try," he said. _Yoda once told me do or do not, there is no try and I think you would find it useful to understand that soon _she said before beginning their trek.

** Savage landed on his feet in darkness** that engulfed everything he could see to his left, right, front, back, underneath, and top. Though he could sense his brother's presence and his mother's, both were very faint and far from each other. But he also sensed he wasn't alone in this darkness that surrounded every angle. Something was approaching but there was no way of telling if it was dangerous or not.

Luckily, both sides of his lightsaber were ignited in case it was but still, he couldn't tell just from sensing it if it was a threat to him or not. He decided to walk toward it and see if getting closer to it would help his senses detect what it was better. It was the least he could do besides stand in the darkness and merely _hope _it would come to him. But whatever it was did not respond and actually grew stronger as he walked towards where he felt it coming from.

Unfortunately, the source of the disturbance in the Force moved far enough away from him to where it was as faint as it was before. "What or whoever you are, stop these games at once! Or else I will kill you when I find you, that I promise you!" he demanded. _How can you kill what is already dead, Savage Opress? _it asked.

"How do you know my name?" Savage asked. _I know everything and nothing at once, I am here and am there and I am nowhere. And soon shall you, warrior _it answered. "Do not speak in riddles fool or I will make you suffer when I find you," Savage warned.

_ Oh but I think you already did make me suffer when you ravaged me, Savage Opress. Look now on your creation and tremble before its beautiful ugliness _the voice said. Then a woman Savage remembered from his past stepped into the light of his blades and showed a bundle containing a baby within it. _He is your son Savage Opress, do you see what you have done to me, you filthy monster! _she said.

"I only made you a whore with a kid, nothing more than that. Go crawling back to that whorehouse from whence you came," he told her. _You dare leave your son behind without even knowing what I named him, beast? _she asked him. He grabbed the baby with the Force and snapped its neck with ease before using the Force to cast it away.

"Make do without your son if you're not so proud of what I did to you, whore," Savage replied. _You killed Little Jonny, why did you kill him? _she asked him. "For the same reason I'm going to kill you: you're an extreme annoyance to me," he answered. Deactivating one end of his lightsaber but keeping another on, Savage raised his blade in a striking stance and diagonally bisected the unarmed woman.

"Let that be a lesson to you, whore. When you cross paths with Savage Opress, don't expect him to be merciful," he vowed with a growl. Interestingly enough, her death sparked an explosion of light that illuminated the darkness permanently and revealed a hallway in possibly one of the city's fortified pantheons. Now he knew where to go in order to get out if nothing opposed him like that although now he knew to be careful of this city's powers.

** Kycina looked around her and saw** nothing but darkness. She did not nor could not sense the presence of her sons anywhere so she guessed they were probably dead or beyond her reach. Luckily though, she had a solution to the darkness that consumed her surroundings in all directions. Reciting a relatively small spell, she watched as a ball of green fire formed from the emerald on her staff and was sent ahead of her to find possible emitters of light.

She immediately found the shafts used for torches and used the Force to levitate the fireball toward them, lighting them up in the process. As she did so, the darkness around her began to fade and be replaced by blue-grey stone in a straight hallway. Once she had the front covered as far as her keen eyes could see, she made it return to her and cover the behind as well in case there was an alternate path to walk. Instead, she found a dead end, making her glad that she had turned the light on it before walking right into the cold wall.

Finally, she recalled the green ball back and extinguished it but made sure she had some magic power left over to restore it in the event there was more darkness. But from what she could see, she guessed she was in one of the hallways associated with a pantheon near the temple. She knew this was a good sign since she knew that if she was near the temple, she stood a chance of reaching Talzin before she fulfilled her vow to use the Goddess' power to destroy the galaxy. Even if she had to do it alone, she knew she had to kill the bitch that birthed her in order to save the lives of at least one of her sons though she hoped that one was Maul instead of Savage.

Talzin smiled, knowing now that her path to power was now unchallenged. While traversing the space bridge, she saw as the atmosphere of Dathomir began to blacken and give way to the void of the immortal vacuum. She enjoyed the sensation of traveling across the bridge and seeing space without the disadvantage of a cruiser or some starfighter with limited view in its cockpit. Now that KaiSu Lak'Ton had been fully restored, the Goddess would be expecting her arrival on its surface as would her people.

_For countless millennia, I wasted my time on a charade meant to bring about the return of the Goddess to this forsaken galaxy. No longer will I play the part of Talzin the Nightsister, now I will play the part of Talzin the Voice and Wrath of the Goddess _she vowed silently. "Mother, let your power entomb your enemies in the oblivion awaiting them and let them reel as they watch us in the paradise you and I will create together!" she shouted. Since space had no ability to transmit sound by itself, Talzin knew her vow was secured and that no one heard her say it unless they did so through the Force.

** When Ventress made her reluctant pact** with Dooku, she had no idea for what was going to happen all around her when Talzin activated the space bridge and fully revived KaiSu Lak'Ton. "Do you believe me without the duel, now?" Ventress asked when it happened. He shrugged and gave the point to her then asked how he would be able to get past the curse on the gate. "You can't, you have to be either of Talzin's blood or permitted by her otherwise you can't cross," she said.

As if to prove her point, she tried it herself and managed to cross through the gate then urged Dooku to try. When he attempted to follow, the barrier prevented him from doing so. "Go back to Serenno and continue the war. If all goes well, you won't have to deal with me again but the galaxy will be safe for you to continue your ambitions," she said.

"I think I'll take your advice. I've had enough experiences with Dathomir witchcraft to last me a lifetime," he said. Then he turned around and headed out of the temple and back to his ship. But not before telling Ventress to destroy Mother Talzin for him; something she agreed to.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

Savage knew only one thing for certain: the singular hallway to his left went somewhere. Where it led or how he wound up here left him clueless but at the same time, curious to learn more. _Perhaps it's a shortcut back up to the Temple and to that traitorous grandmother of mine_ he thought. And why not when one considered he had no other options lying around at the moment?

Still, even though he had dispatched the whore he now remembered had been called Charlotte and their bastard son Jonny, he still sensed something. He could immediately tell it wasn't his brother, his mother, or his grandmother but he knew it was something different from him. As he walked down the hallway illuminated for him by the death of the whore and their son, it became stronger and strong then he started hearing sounds. Then when he got closer, he began to hear a voice coming from the opposite end of a bulky door facing him.

He ran to it and put his ear against it to see if he could make out any words from the other side. It would give him an idea as to who or what he may be facing in combat or passing by. Already, he could hear one really gruff voice talking to several timid others and he could tell it was someone talking to his accomplices much like how Dooku would talk to him. And that was whenever Dooku was angered by a failure Savage had made such as the death of former King Katuunko on Toydaria.

Whether or not it was the best thing, Savage knew there was no other way to go forward but through the door. He pushed slowly and he found it was surprisingly easy to do that despite the size of the damned door. Opening it just enough to squeeze through, he then shut it again when he got through. "Who dares enter my chambers when not summoned?" asked the source of the gruff, angry voice.

"No one we know, my lord. But by the look of him, he may be a warrior come to kill you," one of the servants said. "Only if you choose to stand in my way," Savage replied menacingly. "Oh, you dare to address me in the manner which only I may address peasants such as yourself?" the man asked, revealing himself to be a massive human encased in grey armor.

The armor looked like it slowed him down but Savage knew better than to be fooled by appearances. His suspicion of the man's true power was confirmed when he leapt with ease from his chair and halfway across the hall between himself and Savage. "Do you know who I am, young man?" the king asked him. "You're the Blood-Handed King, famous for bringing war upon Dathomir when it was not asked for," Savage answered.

"Ah, my reputation precedes me! I like it!" the Blood-Handed King shouted. "I only ask permission to pass through your throne room without quarrel. If you let me then I will consider letting you live and brag of your reputation," Savage warned. "Nah boy, I think I'd rather enhance my reputation with your death rather than let you pass," the King said.

He swung the first punch but Savage intercepted it with his mechanical arm immediately. "Boy, you've got a special gift, care to use it?" he asked. "No problem at all," Savage answered with a smile. Then he slugged the King in the face with that same arm and watched as three teeth flew out of the man's mouth as well as a few ounces of blood.

When the King faced him again and smiled, Savage saw a fourth tooth barely dangling from his gums. "Not bad for a boy, you seem experienced in the art of hand-to-hand combat," he said. "I was trained from a young age to only fight so that one day, I would be selected by a Nightsister to be her mate," Savage told him. "I rebelled against the Nightsisters precisely because of such a fate as was selected for you," his enemy said.

The mad King lunged for Savage once more but the younger man was faster and more readily capable of dodging it. It resulted in him being sent right into the door, face first. "For such an infamous murderer, you're really pathetic in combat," Savage mocked. Then the King really got going and even managed to land a few punches on Savage though he only managed to hit him in the chest or on one of his shoulder pads. However, Savage gained the upper hand when he rammed the horns on his head into the King's gut and sent both men flying across the hall until they landed on the floor.

They briefly slid across the cold, marble floor which gave Savage time to pull his horns out of the King's skin safely. Then he used his legs to pin his enemy's legs and left arm just in time to intercept a blow from the right meant for his face. Savage grabbed the fist with his left arm, beginning a struggle of power between them. At first, nothing happened and neither side moved more than the other since Savage was also focused on keeping the pin securely intact.

It was after that brief moment that bones started to crack and they belonged to the King. His strength began to falter and Savage managed to push his free hand further back. Slowly but surely, Savage was triumphing over the Blood-Handed King and about to end his life. Then one of the servants intervened and threw Savage off his lord, frustrating Savage enough to mutilate him with his lightsaber.

"How dare you do what was _my _job!" the King boomed. Savage intercepted an attempt for him to reach for a battle axe by throwing his lightsaber at the warlord, severing his hand in the process. "I think it's time you learned why my left arm is different from my right. It's an artificial replacement for when my arm was severed off my body in the same manner yours is now," Savage explained.

Then he added that it was a shame medics had not yet invented artificial heads in the same manner or a way to reattach a head once severed. "You could survive for a few hours without the rest of your body since a lightsaber cauterizes the wound though I doubt you'd want to live that long as just a head," he mocked. But of course, the King didn't take his bluff for a second nor did Savage plan for him to. However, he did decapitate the King and tried to see if he really wasn't bluffing and the King could survive without his body for a few hours.

Fortunately, he didn't and Savage ordered the servants to clean up and let him pass or else they would suffer a similar fate to their king. They agreed immediately, worshipping Savage in the hopes he chose to spare them while they obeyed his command. When they gave their King proper rites to whatever afterlife he believed in, they turned to Savage for new orders. Instead, he slaughtered them all the same way he had slaughtered the servants of the Brotherhood of Darkness.

** When Maul and the apparition** of Ophelia reached the end of the tunnel, he asked her what would happen next. _If you can face down the guilt of your past and destroy the symbol of that guilt without becoming it, you will be allowed to escape this pantheon and proceed to the tower _she said. "So I am in a structure of the city indeed. I had suspected as much when you lit up the darkness I was surrounded in when I awoke," he replied.

_Beyond the gate lies only what you take with you. This is as far as my power allows me to go and from here, you must fight alone _she stated. "Only what I take with me: shouldn't be too hard to remember and besides, I always fight alone in the end," Maul said. _All say that but none ever learn the true meaning until faced with what they've taken with them _Ophelia said before vanishing again.

"But wait, will I see you again?" Maul asked her. _I cannot say for certain Maul but I have done my duty and guided you here. For now, we must part ways once more _she answered. Though reluctant to let her go, he understood what she meant and opened the gate to continue his journey alone.

At first, there was nothing on the other side except a rather extravagant chamber that looked like a place for royalty to be occupying. The other side was masked in pitch black and Maul recognized it was a sign of something that might be his next test in this hell. His suspicion was confirmed when the dark hole fell out of the wall, slithered toward him like a snake, then began to take a human form. When Maul first saw it, he felt no concern although what followed changed that very quickly.

Plates of armor began to bulge out of the dark shape and a silver liquid led over them until they became a suit of armor Maul recognized from his past. He didn't need to see the face to know that it was forming into the deity behind the death of Ophelia. Claudiate, the result of Claudius Draco and Darth Vitiate of the old Sith Empire combining body and soul at Heraklion Prime was back from Oblivion. Maul knew this was true when his enemy's eyes opened to reveal two glowing ruby-like orbs in the sockets instead of human eyes.

Claudiate's hands were the last to form but with them came the lightsabers he once wielded in combat against Maul and Ophelia. When the form was completely created, Claudiate smiled, ignited both lightsabers, and greeted his old archrival like he had never died. _So this is the guilt that I took in with me, I think I understand now _Maul thought. Then he ignited his own lightsaber to fight the being that had robbed him of Ophelia's life and plunged his own into darkness until now.

** Kycina had long reached the end** of the lights that had helped her through the darkness. Now she came upon a massive gate and seeing that the darkness had reclaimed her previous steps, she opened it and went into whatever peril lied behind it. Using the light of her staff to illuminate the way, she was surprised to see how quickly the room on the other side filled up with light as if her staff's light had been the key to the darkness' heart. Unfortunately, her awe at the flight of the darkness did not prepare her for the Zabrak man waiting in front of her.

With a zhaboka in one hand and a sword in the other, she recognized who this was immediately. It was the father of Savage and Feral, returned to her after many years apart from each other. At first, she ran to embrace him but the look on his face told her that was a bad idea and the glow in his eyes all but confirmed that. It was then that she realized that the life in the city was tricking her, playing with her fears and anxieties and presenting them in the form of the man she had once loved.

"Deimos, it's good to see you again, it really is," she said. She meant it seeing as he had been forced to raise their children by himself shortly after she was sentenced to exile by Talzin for sending Maul away. "If it's so good to see me now, how come you didn't see me when Talzin ordered my decapitation for _your _crime?" Deimos asked. "But Talzin told me you would be taking care of our children!" Kycina answered.

"If she told you that and you believed her, you are an idiot! Shortly after you were banished, my execution was ordered and both Savage and Feral were left to rot alone," Deimos replied. "I'm so sorry Deimos, please forgive me for what happened to you!" she said. "It is too late to beg forgiveness but not too late to die before my blade," he replied.

Hearing that comment, she begged him to remember the love he had for her and how no one had loved like him. "That's because no one was a bigger fool than I had been to love the daughter of Talzin! Now just die so I can move on to killing her alongside _my_ son and against that bastard you mothered before him," he shouted. Hearing Maul called a bastard was unacceptable to Kycina since both of them knew he had been legitimate at the time of his birth.

Quickly, she rose up from kneeling on the ground in tears and held her staff out in front of herself. "That is something I cannot do, Deimos. It is something I _will _not do!" she shouted before she attacked him with her newfound magic. She vowed revenge on him before seeing him charge with zhaboka in front and sword behind for defense as was typical of his style. "Think you can trick me with that attack again? You thought wrong, you fool!" she shouted before destroying his staff with her magic and transforming her staff into a spear to counter his sword.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Savage stepped out yet another door and found himself outside, in the breeze of Dathomir's winds. He had escaped the horrors of the pantheon but found himself a surprising distance from the temple he had once aided Talzin in ascending. _No matter, I have come over greater distances than a few dozen meters _he told himself. And indeed he had considering his galactic travels searching for his brother, serving Dooku, and fighting alongside Maul.

He decided to begin his walk toward the temple but not before noticing a puddle of water in his path. From the look of his environment, it had probably rained only moments ago which explained the reason for the sweet, watery smell. Since he was a child, he always had an interest in what reflections he would see in the puddle besides his own. But this time, it was his own that interested since he noticed a change that had likely happened during his travel in the pantheon: his eyes had become as orange as his brother's had been in their time together and the black pupil was almost non-existent.

There were even tiny red specks near the edges of the already orange orbs he used to see. He didn't think it meant anything but he decided he'd best check on his eyes next chance he got and saw if they got any worse. Or was this an improvement that he was looking at and not a fatal condition that would later kill him? It didn't matter so long as he had a chance to take his revenge against his grandmother before he went to the grave forever.

**"Indeed you have improved** from when we last met, boy. But sadly, it is not enough against my power," Claudiate said. "Funny, I defeated you without the improvement but now you say you're more powerful than me despite improvement on my part? Get realistic, would you please?" Maul retorted. "Oh but I am being realistic young one, I was brought back from Oblivion with far more power than I ever had facing you and that Jedi bitch Ophelia; and as I recall, you barely manage to hold your own last time we met," Claudiate replied.

"That's not how I remember it, actually, I remember using the power of the Dark Side to destroy you at Heraklion Prime. But of course, that was a desperate act on my part after Ophelia had been gutted with her own lightsaber," Maul stated. "Then allow me to refresh your memory of every single second of that final fight where you lost the woman of your dreams by my hand!" Claudiate shouted.

He grabbed Maul with the Force, dragged him across the hall, then grabbed his head, and electrocuted him with lightning. Though Maul's immunity to lightning kept him safe from harm, the visions that followed were unavoidable. Every single grueling moment from that confrontation on Heraklion Prime came flooding to the front of his mind, causing him to scream. It included the moment where Ophelia had been killed with her own lightsaber by Claudiate, the rage he had felt after lying helpless and watching slamming into his head like a tsunami.

It was then that Claudiate let him go in hopes of having made him bow down before him. But Maul examined the visions for a moment and realized something: Claudiate had twisted the truth of it around. Unlike what he had felt the first time the emotions stirred in the duel were amplified too much to be his own. He now knew what Claudiate's scheme was: to make him feel guilty and slay him with the power of the Dark Side again.

Rising back up to his feet, he took a deep breath and adjusted his lightsaber into an Ataru position. "Oh that's a new one for you, let's hope it serves you well," Claudiate stated. He went for the kill but Maul leapt over him and managed to slash Claudiate vertically up his back then turned around and prepared for the imminent retaliation. And as he anticipated, Claudiate wheeled around and hacked at him with both of his lightsabers and tried to force him into using the Dark Side.

But Maul kept up his vigil of Ataru as well as Soresu, something Claudiate had never even seen on Ophelia let alone his archrival. And just when Maul was about to attack for the first time in the entire duel, he noticed something happening to Claudiate. The combination of ancient Sith Lord and young scientist began to transform before Maul's eyes, bones cracking in his enemy's back, his hands morphing from Claudius' to Vitiate's. It was when the transformation was complete that Maul realized that Vitiate had cast his Claudius half and chose to fight as a fully resurrected Sith Lord instead of one trapped in Claudius' body.

"Now you die boy, for I have recovered my full strength as the Sith Emperor who once came so close to destroying the Republic only for it all to slip away from my grasp! I am truly Darth Vitiate, not that pathetic hybrid of myself and Claudius Draco, perhaps my greatest pawn," Vitiate said. "I will not fight you Sith Lord for I now realize why you're here before me," Maul said. "And why is that?" asked the fallen Emperor.

"Because you are the symbol of all my guilt: the more attention I give you, the more powerful you become. I will not fight you but rather, I will let you destroy yourself as Sith Lords inevitably do," Maul answered. "No, you will fight and kill me thus reclaiming your place in the Dark Side!" Vitiate demanded loudly. He attacked Maul with the lightsabers that had now turned red and Maul destroyed one of them in that first attempt at an attack.

Then he kicked Vitiate away and started to walk toward the gate that had been behind Vitiate at the beginning of the duel. "No foolish child, you will kill me and fall into darkness once more!" Vitiate shouted. But this time, Maul ignored him save to call him an illusion of the past sent to haunt him by the powers of the city. Vitiate cried out one last time before fading away at that comment, the action somehow causing the gate to swing open and reveal a portal of light Maul knew to step into immediately.

Smiling, Maul knew he had broken the Dark Side's hold over him and created a new destiny for himself. Now he knew where he was meant to be and knew that Dathomir was just the start in his new life. He was a knight of justice now but first he was something the Nightbrothers of Dathomir needed him to be: the Arras Käsi chosen to save them from destruction. And Maul would do just that as well as deliver them from the tyranny of the Nightsisters that ruled over them after defeating Talzin and the Snake Goddess.

**"You cannot hope to **defeat me here, Kycina! The power flowing within this city is too great for you to defeat me so long as I can draw on it for strength," Deimos warned. Kycina looked around, saw four pillars with red lights in them and guessed from the occasional run of electricity that struck Deimos that they were how he drew upon the city's power. Using the Force to conjure lightning, she subdued him long enough to whisper an incantation into her staff and hit the butt of it against the ground, causing four blasts of magic to shoot out and destroy the pillars simultaneously.

"Now you have no power with which to destroy me, give up now Deimos. While there is still honor in your name, give up this fight," Kycina begged. "Never!" Deimos replied before resuming his attack against Kycina. Kycina kept on the defensive long enough to observe her former mate and recognized that he was no illusion so much as a soul brought back from the Underworld and given substance in order to fight her.

She knew only one thing would have the ability to turn the man who had once loved her more than anyone against her: the corrupting influence of the Snake Goddess on this forsaken city. "Deimos do you not remember how we met? How we fell in love and produced two beautiful sons?" she asked. "I remember, why?" he asked her.

"Then surely you remember how you had survived the grueling Selection just to preserve your reputation. Don't you remember how I fought you originally to keep you in place with the rest of the Nightbrothers but fell in love with you instead?" she added. "No Kycina, do not even start there; all I desire to remember is that I was merely a shadow living under your great shadow," he replied. "How did I betray you love when I did nothing to you or our sons?" she asked him.

"You betrayed us all when you gave away your eldest son to that human who raised him to be a Sith Lord as pathetic as that may sound. When Talzin came down on our doorstep and separated us from each other and left the boys in my care, I knew what you had done!" Deimos answered. "I had no choice: I didn't know Savage was Force-sensitive nor did I want Maul to perish in the same manner you eventually would," Kycina told him, still hoping he'd listen to reason. Still Deimos kept up the attack, driving her back towards the door she had used to enter the room before seeing him and fighting him.

Now that Kycina knew for certain that Deimos would not listen to reason and was forever beyond hope, she knew what to do. She pushed him back, conjured a charm from her staff and threw it at Deimos' head without missing him. The staff glowed with the same orange light she had used when facing the damned souls in the tower and pointed it at Deimos. "Deimos, father of Savage, son of Mercury, and grandson of the head tribesmen of the Nightbrothers," she began.

"No, don't do this!" Deimos begged. "I release you from your suffering and send you back to your place in the Underworld. Goodbye forever my love, may you rest in peace as I can only hope to do," Kycina finished. Orange lightning began to surge in and on Deimos, throwing him to the ground and creating a portal back to the Underworld.

But not before Kycina came up to him and gave him a passionate kiss on his lips and saying goodbye. "I hope our son honors me by killing you and your other child slowly and painfully!" Deimos said. Then he fell through the portal and went back to the Underworld where he would remain for eternity. "Goodbye love, I hope we have a more peaceful reunion when my time comes to join you in the afterlife," Kycina replied shortly after the portal closed.

It was then that the gate ahead of her swung open and she headed towards the portal of light behind it. When the brief flash of light passed over her, she saw that she was back in the city, apparently in the aftermath of a rain storm considering the smell of moisture, and saw where she was. She realized she was very close to the temple and also saw her son Maul at the base of it, causing her to call out to him and to run toward him. He saw her and also ran toward her and soon the two were embraced in each other's arms, more than ecstatic to be reunited at last.

"Maul, where's your brother?" she asked after a moment of happy pause. "I don't know, we became separated after grandmother threw us off the tower and into the pantheons in the city," Maul admitted. "Well hopefully, he'll see the light and side with us when he catches up but I doubt that will happen. He won't serve her anymore but I don't think he'll fight with us for the same reasons we would have if at all," she said.

"I think that closes the matter of Savage for now, let's kick some ass now that we're back together again. After all, standing here and talking isn't going to get the job done and my lightsaber calls for her skin," he said. "I will do what I can to help you as far as magic goes but most of the real fighting may have to be your responsibility," she replied.

He nodded in understanding and together, mother and son ascended the stairs to the temple once more. This time though, they would not stop in their fight until they had killed Mother Talzin once and for all. Their fight would either save the universe or see its destruction but regardless of the consequences, they would try. For the sake of Dathomir's freedom from the Snake Goddess, they had to at least try.

**With spear in hand,** Talzin explored KaiSu Lak'Ton and found the place of the Goddess' rest. Smiling, she aimed her spear in throwing position and waited until she found a weakness in the seal. "Mother, I bid thee return to me," she said. Then she threw the spear and undid the seal.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Upon seeing the seal shatter, Talzin waited for her mother to register it for a moment causing her heart to pick up speed. Then she saw the green eyes of the Goddess slowly shine into existence once more, a rumble in the ground signifying her return to life. Smiling, Talzin knelt in respect for this woman who once had mothered her millennia before in the darkness of Chaos' defeat. At first, the female form of her mother was still trapped in the stone but then it would begin to weaken and break before her might.

It weakened enough for her to wrench her head free from the entombment and the clenching of one of her hands caused even more stone to break. A chain reaction caused her arms to be freed which in turn served to help pull her lower body from where it was placed in the stone like a pole on cement. However, she didn't do that but instead, began to transform into her true form of the snake. Her arms shrunk and added to the length of the coils, her head changed into the shape of a snake with a foldable hood and the transformation was completed when her legs joined and shrunk to add to the length of her scaly body.

She drilled her way into the stony floor with her head and after several seconds, rose out again before diving back into the earth beneath her once again. The Goddess did this several more times until her head was barely much higher than the mountain on which Talzin was kneeling to her powerful mother. _We have been waiting for you, my daughter and now you have returned to our fold _Hecate said through the Force. _And long have I struggled to find the means to return back into your glorious threshold, mother _Talzin replied.

** Kycina and Maul had** barely arrived at base of the tower and the summit of the pyramid it lied on top of when they encountered their first set of perils. Once more, the souls of the damned of KaiSu Lak'Ton met them but looked even more wretched than they had earlier. Not only did they have the same deformities as they did before but they also had burn marks that were very fresh. As a result, chunks of scorched flesh could be found in the blood trails as they either walked or crawled towards their living enemies.

However, both Kycina and Maul noticed something strange about the scorch marks on the undead souls. Instead of the normal orange-red burns that flames left in flesh, these wounds were green like the magic of the Nightsisters. "KaiSu Lak'Ton is probably the place where the origin of our power lies, if it is destroyed then I may lose all my power," Kycina warned her son. "But you have the Force, my mother, it is more than enough to start again if that ever happens to you," he replied.

And he reminded her that if Talzin survived the destruction of the Goddess, she too would lose her powers and be even more vulnerable to their wrath. "Let's see if we can destroy her before that happens though, what do you say?" she asked with a teasing smile. Maul agreed and when Kycina's magic failed to stop the advance of the damned souls, she gave clearance for Maul to finish them. It was all they could do to fight and destroy those who got in their way whilst they searched for Talzin, the scourge of the galaxy with a mother out to destroy it.

"Why are you so accepting of their demise now when earlier you had prevented me from destroying them?" Maul asked when there were no more to fight. "Because I realized that the only life that should matter to me more than the lives of the people in this galaxy is yours. Savage's too though he will probably never believe it nor do I think I'd expect him to," she answered. "So if everything I became is all because you chose to send me away from Dathomir, why did you choose me instead of Savage or even Feral?" he continued.

"I didn't Maul, the Will of The Force did and a divine thing like that should ever be questioned. Only accepted for though its will sometimes seems harsh, there is a reason for everything. There is a counterattack for every plan should it go wrong and that's what makes the Force perfect. Not because it doesn't make mistakes, it does, but unlike many people in this galaxy it seeks to correct all mistakes it makes," she explained.

Maul had been to enough versions of the galaxy he lived in to know that was true. Kings could be considered counterattacks to the powers of Chaos and his people the counterattack to his power becoming too great. The Jedi could be considered the counterattack to the threat of Sith dominance in the galaxy or even vice versa. As he thought about what organizations countered each other by will of the Force, he noticed something odd.

His hands and feet began to glow with a strange fire, lighter green than the one that had badly scorched his enemies. Deactivating his lightsaber, he decided to test out his martial arts with this fire but found it simple to just punch one of them. What had been a light hit, sent the creature flying right into the ceiling where it stayed for several seconds, only to fall back down and burn up and fade from existence. _This is a neat trick, let's try it with the rest of these things _Maul thought.

He decided to employ Terra Käsi with it and saw that the effects were much more permanent than wielding his lightsaber could be since they came back up every time he hacked them down. Worse, Kycina's magic hardly changed a thing despite her best efforts to help her son by healing the torture within the damned souls of KaiSu Lak'Ton. As he busied himself with this new power, Kycina stopped using her magic to aid him and observed him in action. Though no longer sinister in its intent, she sensed a darkness that she recognized as only one thing and it wasn't anything from his time with the Sith.

Despite her every desire to put it out of her mind, she now realized what her son truly was. He was the Arras Käsi, the prophesied son of Dathomir who would save her from destruction and bring about the destruction of the Nightbrothers or else their salvation. Yes she did indeed pity the Nightbrothers for their fate which was why she saved Maul from it. However, she did still agree with fellow Nightsisters that they were near-uncontrollable animals and could relate from her own experiences with them.

Including Maul's father who had not only defeated her in combat via the powerful willpower she had mentioned to her son but also forced himself on her immediately after. It was like he had nothing else to live for and the sooner he completed that purpose in life, the better for him. Though she saw no sign of that same thing in her son, she did decide it was best to be weary for his sake as well as her own.

** Savage realized he had** arrived too late to have any real fun judging by the piles of burned flesh and blood stains on the stone floor. However, he decided not to think to hard on that but instead, let Maul and their mother do the work while he simply trailed behind and waited for the ample opportunity. Then he would step in and take the credit of destroying Talzin for himself and only himself. But not only would he take the credit, he would also be the one who did the deed and sent that damn bitch off to oblivion where her new life waited.

After that, he would take revenge against his brother and mother and kill them thus proving his worth to the Goddess forever. It would make him immortal and give him the power to command the Nightbrothers for his own gain against Dooku and Ventress. They would pay for what they did to him, turning him into the monster he was becoming now with Talzin's aid. However, they would also pay for taking everything that mattered to him including his brother Feral who Ventress had him kill with his bare hand.

** As Talzin kept kneeling** before her mother, the Goddess instructed her daughter in what was to be done now. _Our army shall be risen out of the stone by your hand. You will guide it to the space bridge where it will then descend onto Dathomir and conquer it in our glorious cause before we expand into the rest of the forsaken universe _she explained. "I can do that right now if you wish, mother," Talzin said.

_I shall bless you with my power which will allow to control and guide them to the space bridge and begin our conquest _her mother replied. Her green, glowing eyes suddenly shot out bolts of green lightning that struck Talzin and began to change her. The red robes of her rank turned into grayish-blue plates of spiked armor, the shoulder pads turning into deadly blades in the process. Her turban turned into a helmet whose crest was sharp to the touch like the spikes on her armor and shoulder pads.

The process was concluded when an ax similar to the one Talzin had once made for her grandson Savage was conjured from nothing by the Goddess. _Your most proficient weapon has been returned for your use against our enemies for what is a leader if not the crème de la crème of my army? _the Goddess asked her. "Thank you mother, your words raise me up to the standard necessary to lead your armies while you fuel our power here. Unless you wish to join us in the conquest of the universe," Talzin answered.

_In a universe I do not know, you are no longer my observer. I am now yours for the best learning is always done through observation _her mother replied to her. "Never fear mother, I will make you proud of me," Talzin assured her. _But you already have, there is a reason I have always looked upon you with greater favor than the rest of my immortal children _the Goddess told her.

Smiling, Talzin went about restoring her victorious army to life with the power her mother had given her. Tapping her ax against the ground and chanting, she watched as her spell began to take effect on the stone statues that now turned to flesh and blood. Entire mountains crumbled to reveal ships that carried hundreds of thousands more soldiers than the already several million strong armada below her. Then she pointed to the portal through which the soldiers and the ships were to step into Dathomir and the galaxy beyond.

**"We've arrived at the** space bridge," Kycina said. "And just in time, it looks like something is happening from the other side. Something we need to stop before it can come to pass in this galaxy we love dearly," Maul agreed. Kycina nodded and stepped into the light of the space bridge first before instructing Maul to do the same when she starting levitating upwards.

"I've never been in one of these before, are they safe?" he asked her. "I don't know because neither have I," Kycina admitted glumly. "That's a comforting thought to know mother, why not think that while eating some sugary sweets from Coruscant?" he teased. "Your skills in sarcasm need work, clearly your master didn't teach you deception before Obi-Wan defeated you," she snapped back before silence consumed the rest of their journey in the space bridge.

**Savage quickened his pace** as he sensed he was getting closer and closer to the space bridge. "Where are you going in such a hurry, my former servant Savage?" the familiar voice of Ventress asked. "To exact revenge on Talzin for her treachery, you will not be in the way of that while you carry my spawn in you," he answered.

Before she could ask him what he was talking about, he used the Force to push her into a wall and down a shaft below her. With no opposition from the bitch who would mother his child, he continued until at last, he was within sights of the top of the tower once more. This time however, the space bridge was activated and he could use it to find Talzin and take his revenge. And if the will of the Force was kind to him, perhaps he could end his feud with his brother and mother while he was it as well.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Maul and Kycina could not believe what they saw when they came to the other side of the space bridge. At nearly every angle, sharp rocks poked their way from the ground in all directions, shapes and sizes far as the eye could see. In addition, they could see legion upon legion of Zabrak soldiers headed straight their way likely seeking the space bridge. Cruisers were also flying towards the space bridge, probably carrying more troops than were already on the ground.

"So this is what grandmother has been fighting to bring back to our dimension for the last thirty millennia or so. It is a very impressive armada considering the goal is shortsighted," Maul said. "Shortsighted how? The Goddess can most likely open gateways to the dimensions you've seen," Kycina asked.

He shook his head and said that entities of the Force were forbidden from going beyond their own domain in what they conquer. The additional note that a deity lost their power when sent away from their domain explained why Talzin was left behind to break the seal. "She needed you, me, and Savage to do that because she knew that unlike Ventress, we would know how to find the power necessary to undo the seal. It was never just about our blood relation to her and therefore the Goddess that made us so valuable to her cause," Kycina agreed.

"Yes then there's the fact that I am the Arras Käsi according to Dathomir legend, such a power could be used for Talzin's benefit as well," Maul admitted. "That only leaves the question of where the opposite of the Arras Käsi is at. Where is the Arras _Räsi_, chosen to oppose the Arras Käsi or else unite his powers with him?" she inquired. Then from somewhere above them, "Perhaps I can help answer that question for you two lost souls."

They turned to see Talzin in grayish-blue battle armor levitating above them. In her hands was a battle ax of the type Maul recalled Savage describing in his possession before they met. "Like me, this sort of weapon was Savage's specialty and only the Arras Räsi could wield this weapon with my proficiency," she added with a smile. Maul's fists burst into the magic flame he had seen earlier but this time, the flames were blue rather than green and he felt he was about to know why.

"Maul… you have your mother's eyes, just thought you should know that before you both die," Talzin said, her voice shifting to a grandmother tone briefly. Kycina turned to look at her son just in time for him to face her and ask if it was true. To her surprise, the orange-yellow of the Sith in his eyes had long vanished and was replaced with her own grey-blue eyes. The reminder of how Savage's eyes had been before he was ripped away from her all those years ago hurt her at first but she moved on rather quickly.

"Yes Kycina, the reminder of what Savage was before you betrayed him for Maul hurts does it not?" Talzin mocked. Kycina conjured her staff from nowhere and whispered to Maul about a sword she had observed earlier when they entered. "If there's anything that can undo Talzin's newfound power, it's whatever power that sword has within it," she said. Though it was hard to tell at first, Maul recognized it from descriptions in ancient Dathomiri scrolls as the ancient Sword of Truth.

If it was here than it meant that the Snake Goddess would not be too far behind once he set after it. "Mother, I think our best chance is to fight Talzin for the moment and find out if we need it. If it's the Sword of Truth like I think it is, the Snake Goddess won't be long coming once she knows we're here and know of it," he told her in a hushed voice. "You wouldn't be a match for her even if you did go after it anyway," Talzin interjected rudely.

"Why not?" Kycina inquired. "Because even though the Arras Käsi is the only one who can pull it from its place of rest, only the mother of that chosen one can wield it against the Goddess. Neither of you will reach it so long as I stand and can fight against you!" Talzin said before attacking. Maul dodged but Kycina was swept aside by the blast wave of the attack and temporarily blacked out by soon back on her feet.

She returned just in time to see Kycina had overwhelmed Maul despite his power as the Arras Käsi. Seeing that her mother was about to destroy her son, all reservations about killing Talzin snapped within her. Summoning as much power as she could in mere seconds, she screamed, tapped the staff against the ground and watched as a underground tsunami formed and headed straight for Talzin. In simultaneity with sending out this spell, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "You shall not take my son from me!"

Talzin barely managed to get out of the way before the wave ended just under her feet. The attempt allowed Maul enough time to recover both his footing and his lightsaber before heading out for the Sword of Truth. "It's no use, no matter how strong you become you will never reach the Sword! You cannot defeat the Goddess or me without it even if your mother tries to stop me!" Talzin declared before resuming her attack.

However, something with two red spinning lights flew past her, left a few burn marks across her back as it went forward then looped back to its source. Sure enough, the red lights had been the blades of a double-sided lightsaber and the source was Savage Opress himself. "What's this? How did you get here alive when the horrors of the temple should have claimed your miserable existence for itself?" Talzin shrieked in surprise.

"I found a power within me while in there that in exchange for a change in my eye color, gave me more strength than I have ever imagined. Allow me to introduce you to the power of the Arras Räsi, my grandmother," Savage replied. Red fire similar to Maul's blue fire emitted from Savage's fist and it was at this time that Maul noticed Savage's left arm had been restored.

Maul thought about how that could've happened and remembered a warm feeling in his pelvis and legs after entering a brightly lit pool of rather still water on KaiSu Lak'Ton. Though he thought it inappropriate to do so, he decided to briefly open up his pants and see what it did for his mechanical lower apparatus. To his surprise, he saw a genitalia and flesh on his legs rather than the flat plate and gears that had been his lower half for a while. _So that water has healing properties unless it only did so to make us whole in order to use our powers as the Arras Käsi and the Arras Räsi _he thought silently.

He tucked his pants back under his belt and ran for the Sword of Truth, knowing that Savage was powerful enough to distract Talzin while he obtained the blade. Plus Kycina could use her magic to ward off the Goddess to give him further coverage if it proved absolutely necessary. As he feared, it did turn out to be necessary and when he approached the sword he could see writing on its orange-red side. At first, he had trouble translating it but then he used his photographic memory to remember what he had read about this weapon while under his master's tutelage.

Then he remembered what the translation of the runes were: _Suffer no guilt ye who hath lost his way but found it again as the Arras Käsi but only thy mother can wield me once thou hast pulled me from the ground_. Maul took off his gloves knowing that the sword would react better to his presence if he put the flesh of his hands on it rather than gloves on it. Slowly, due to still being scared of what would happen, he grabbed the sword and closed his eyes in case something happened. But nothing did and he decided it was safe to try and pull it out from the ground beneath his restored feet.

It was then that the sword reacted and tried to burn him with a lighter orange fire. The blue fire of the Arras Käsi rose to counter it and blocked much of it from touching his body but there was still enough to hurt. He gnawed his teeth hard, willing himself not to think of the pain as he continued to pull the sword from the ground. Kycina knew about the Sword of Truth and knew that if Maul could pull it out, they stood a chance against the Goddess.

Which was why Maul had her cover his back from Hecate while he went about doing the deed. So far, it was working in accordance with his plan and he was more than halfway through when he felt a coil of the Goddess briefly pass by him since she had slithered by this area earlier and the rest of her body was still catching up with the head. _Shit, mother isn't going to be able to hold her off forever so I need to hurry up with this _Maul thought before tugging on the sword with all his might. Just when he was reaching the tip of the weapon was when it started to hurt the worst and he even let out a harsh cry that revealed his pain as he made the final tug.

Then the sword was free and Maul called out to his mother to make her catch the blade. Kycina absorbed her staff after temporarily throwing the Goddess off her and running to the sword as it flew through the air. At first, Maul thought she was never going to make it but was surprised to see her jump after it and spinning opposite of the way it was headed. She caught it in her hand just as it passed by her and she landed back on her feet before turning toward the head of the Goddess and making a final charge. After that, Maul turned to see that Savage was approaching the end of his strength much as Maul had earlier in the battle with their grandmother and great-grandmother.

"Need a little hand brother?" Maul asked shortly after entering the fray and punching Talzin with the fire of the Arras Käsi. Then they both ignited their fists into the flames of their respective powers and started attacking their grandmother almost directly. It was through some of Savage's ingenuity that they learned how to add the flames to their feet for even more deadliness. But Maul's ingenuity that really saved them when he noticed a green glowing platform only a few meters from where they were presently fighting.

"Savage, help me lure her into the green chamber then we'll blast her to oblivion with our powers!" he shouted. His brother did just that when he lunged for Talzin and the impact of his hit made them roll in the dirt until they had almost reached it. Then she threw him across the entire length of the dozen meter wide chamber until he was on the other side. Maul replied to this by then kicking Talzin into the chamber and using his power to push her toward the center of it.

"Ready brother?" Maul asked. Savage nodded and braced himself after making sure he faced his brother as directly as possible. "What are you going to do? You wouldn't kill your own grandmother, would you now?" Talzin asked them.

Maul smiled, signaled his brother, and together the two of them unleashed the full power of the Arras Käsi and Arras Räsi upon her. His blue flames and Savage's red slammed into her like two fists and kept raining on her, rapidly draining her of her own power. In the distance, Maul saw that his mother had decapitated the Goddess and used the Sword of Truth's power to destroy the rest of the body and that immediately explained how it was possible to defeat his grandmother. Talzin shrieked in pain as the flames burned away all of her power and even scorched her hands before realizing that not only were her grandsons robbing her of her new power, they were also taking her immortality and her connection to the Force.

Upon losing both things, she knew that for the first time in her near-eternal existence she was vulnerable to the embrace of Death itself. "No, stop this I beg you!" she said but it was already too late. The brothers used the last of their powers' essence and watched as the green chamber also electrocuted their grandmother and she began to sink right through it and out of KaiSu Lak'Ton. At last, the brothers had banished Talzin from her homeworld after all the years she had spent searching for it only to find it once more.

Maul watched as the green glow disappeared and he realized it had fulfilled its purpose in teleporting someone away from KaiSu Lak'Ton that no longer had power to be there. Rushing to find his mother, he found her leaning on her staff and asked why she was so weak. "The Sword of Truth demands years of life in exchange for use and now I have grown old though I don't look it," she explained. Surprised but not unfazed, he put his mother's arm over his shoulders and pulled her up so he could help her out of this cursed world before it was destroyed.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ventress came to the place where the bridge began but had been slowed down by her deep thought. What the hell was Savage saying mentioned she was bearing his "spawn" within her? Could it be true that he had somehow gotten the better of her and impregnated her while she was under Talzin's spell? Only that bitch had the answer to her questions and she could only hope she'd find her before anyone else.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for her to see someone falling from KaiSu Lak'Ton in the space bridge. It also took her not too long to recognize that instead of Savage or Maul, it was Talzin in grey battle armor. She fell so fast that by the time Ventress had backed away from the bridge, Talzin had already nearly hit the ground and when she did, she hit so hard that for several seconds she did not rise. The ground beneath her had been broken so that she nearly fell through the floor and when she finally rose, her armor broke off into several chunks and she coughed up blood.

In addition, she was so weak from the fall that she could barely crawl to a pole in order to raise herself to her own feet. "Well, well, what a surprise. Here I was looking for you and lo and behold, you come to me instead," Ventress said. "Ventress… help me please," Talzin whispered.

"Not until you tell me if you know what the hell Savage meant when he told me I was pregnant with his 'spawn'. Did he do something to me while I was under your spell?" she asked the ancient witch. It was then that Talzin admitted that Savage had indeed raped her while she was under her spell and was now carrying the result of that lust, besides KaiSu Lak'Ton's return, in her belly. Ventress' face reddened the color of Dathomir's sky with barely contained rage as she pulled out her lightsabers and nearly activated the fearsome blades.

"Wait Ventress, who would you be without me? Where in the universe would you be besides here right now were it not for me?" Talzin asked. Ventress paused for a moment, thinking about how to answer that before answering it in the only way she knew how as she ignited the blades. "Time to find out," she said.

Talzin replied by throwing a small sword at her but that was dodged with ease. Using the distraction, the witch picked up another just in time to defend against Ventress' first attack. But Ventress kept coming with the slashes from the left and right flank until she had disarmed Talzin then spun both blades so that they slashed her across the abdomen in opposite directions then formed an X on her chest when they came back down. The power of it was more than enough to finish the older witch, her heartbeat ceasing just seconds after her back made a hard thud on the cold floor of the tower they were on.

Ventress deactivated her lightsaber, sensing the absence of life in the body of Mother Talzin and turned to head off into a new life with a bright smile. After all these years, she was finally free of the woman who had been controlling her even before she met Count Dooku or Sidious. But she also realized that after millennia of her haunting presence, the galaxy was also free of Talzin. After more than thirty thousand years of striving to bring Order by harnessing Chaos, Talzin of the Nightsisters had died at last.

** "Mother, let's get out** of here," Maul said to Kycina. The older woman nodded her agreement and let Maul help her walk out of KaiSu Lak'Ton, not even bothering to call her staff back up at his offer of help. "Talzin may be dead but I still have business with you, brother," Savage blatantly called. "Not today Savage, there has been enough fighting and killing for one day," Maul replied, Kycina agreeing weakly.

"Tell that to the forces fighting the Clone Wars even as we speak! You and I finish this, here and now or there will be even more bloodshed than the Wars could ever conjure," Savage demanded. Though reluctant to admit it, Maul knew Savage was right about that and had Kycina conjure her staff before she slowly walked toward the portal, her accelerated age showing in how weakly she walked toward the portal while leaning on the staff. "Just so long as you leave mom alone, I don't mind dying," Maul said.

"I can't promise that but I know you're not bluffing about that last part. You wouldn't have minded dying seeing as you didn't mind being sliced in half nor mind going raving mad for the last twelve years! I gave you your life back in exchange for you teaching me the ways of the Sith and this is how you repay me?" Savage asked. "Yes you saved my life and for that, I am truly grateful but let me make it clear that you only did so on orders from Talzin _and _you attempted to betray and murder me Savage," Maul answered.

Savage asked what Maul's point in saying that was and Maul replied that if Savage was going to betray him, he had better learn how to be able to do it without failing to do it right. "Perhaps I was waiting for an ample time in which I could see you die by my hand, brother," Savage replied. Without further ado, Maul unclipped his lightsaber and ignited the blade whilst readying it into a Juyo stance. Savage turned around as if to ponder how he would attack his brother before leaping into the air in a way that told Maul immediately that he was going to use Djem So instead of both sides of his lightsaber.

The two of them fought savagely like beasts, Maul pressed the attack with his skill in Juyo and Savage trying to weigh him down with punishing blows from Djem So. "You are young and inexperienced Savage, I have years of training with a lightsaber and the ability to use the Force!" Maul said before really pushing his brother down. It was at that moment that Maul saw a glowing white portal and he recognized what it was from the texts he had read under Lord Sidious.

According to legend, these white lights would teleport whoever crossed them to another plane of time. Knowing he could never bring himself to kill his brother, he decided to banish him to another time. He pelted him with the full might of the most powerful form Juyo and though Savage gained some ground, Maul was quick to swallow it up until at last they came to a stalemate. It was during this that Savage combined forms almost flawlessly: switching off between his knowledge of Djem So as well as also activating another side of his lightsaber at moments that surprised Maul occasionally.

Maul knew that if he could somehow force Savage over the edge, he would win the duel for all time. At first, he had trouble finding a solution to his predicament since he knew that Savage would never give up. But in addition to Savage being inches away from the edge, Maul recalled something he remembered from the duel on Naboo. After he kicked Obi-Wan further down the reactor room, Qui-Gon had retaliated by slapping him with the side of his hand hard enough to also send him over the bridge on which they were fighting.

"You know Savage, I taught you well but did I teach you this?" Maul asked just as he performed the same trick. It worked to greater effect than he anticipated and Savage fell over the edge the same way Maul had once fallen off a bridge. _I wondered when you'd be anything besides a number in my Jedi-killing career in Sidious' name _Maul teased silently with a smile. He watched as Savage landed into the portal and Maul watched as it closed shortly after Savage went through it.

Then slowly, after deactivating his lightsaber, he walked away from the crater where the portal had once been and escaped KaiSu Lak'Ton through the portal that led into the space bridge back to Dathomir. This time though, it was mere seconds getting down to Dathomir again rather than the long minutes it had been last time. At first, he was confused by how that could have happened but he saw what had happened. The tower was crumbling thanks to repeated fire from the Republic gunships and the gem fueling the space bridge was exposed.

Kycina had been hustled into one of these gunships but was taken out at Maul's insistence. He took her arm over his shoulder and let her watch as Dooku, Ventress, and Kenobi joined powers to destroy the orb. When it was destroyed, the space bridge turned into a lethal laser that caused KaiSu Lak'Ton to implode. Then they watched as the city turned into sand and crumbled in simultaneity with the destruction of KaiSu Lak'Ton, making everyone present realize that the planet had been the source of this power and its destruction marked the end of a horrific legacy in the universe.

Dooku was the first to leave with his Separatist forces, Kenobi's Republic forces slowly following also. However, Ventress and Kenobi both stayed with Ventress desiring an audience with Kycina and Kenobi with Maul. "I don't know how we can thank you enough for your help Maul. You have truly come a long way from the murderer of my master that I met twelve years ago," Kenobi began.

"There is one way: tell the rest of the Republic space that I am dead. I asked Dooku to do the same before he left Dathomir for Separatist space. The last thing my weakened mother needs is the knowledge that her son is pursued by the two major sides of the Clone War my adoptive father planned," Maul replied. "I understand, I guess that means we're even," Obi-Wan said. "Not quite: though I no longer desire revenge against you, I still would like one last spar with you before we part ways," Maul told him.

Kenobi understood it was a duel meant as a respect for his skill with a lightsaber. "My pleasure as always," he said after igniting his lightsaber. The duel was short and sweet and once again, Kenobi won the fight since he had been mostly defensive and caught Maul by surprise. "Well done, my former enemy-turned-friend or is that not appropriate for the nature of our relationship?" Maul teased. "On the contrary, it's a more than perfect description of our relationship," Kenobi replied, following along with the teasing.

While the two men were doing that, Ventress revealed to Kycina that she was pregnant with Savage's kid and asked where he was. "Last I saw, he was on Lak'Ton with Maul but never returned after that. I doubt we're going to be seeing him again anytime soon even if he did survive its destruction somehow," Kycina told her. "Kycina, I'm telling you because I don't want this child: it would hinder the life I live too much and vice versa," Ventress explained.

"No Ventress, don't explain. I could use the chance to make amends for missing out on Maul and Savage's childhoods by raising at least one of their children before I pass away," Kycina replied, her tone soothing in a way Talzin's never was. Ventress liked that and asked where she and her son would be headed. "That's up to him since he's the only one with the strength to pilot the ship but I have a feeling it will be somewhere far from the conflict of the war," Kycina replied.

"Send word to me once you have secured a location, by then I may be very heavy or close to labor. Assuming Talzin was telling the truth about my pregnancy by Savage's hand," Ventress vowed. "I doubt she lied about that as much as it pains me to say it but come see us anyway even if you aren't indeed pregnant," Kycina told her with an innocent smile. "May the Force be with you and your son," Ventress said, then she walked away to find her ship and leave Dathomir once more.

It was then that Maul approached her, asked what Ventress wanted and Kycina told him. "I guess we'll have to let her know very soon where we are once we arrive at our new home. Let's get back to the _Scimitar _and get the hell out of here," he said as he kissed her cheek. "Watch your language kid or I'm washing your mouth out first chance I get," Kycina warned him.

"Save that for your grandson, I'm too old for it," Maul replied. Using the computer on his wrist, he typed in the code to deactivate the invisibility cloak to reveal the ship's location to them. After Kycina was boarded and settled into a bed, Maul took the controls and typed in the coordinates for their new home far from Sidious and his pathetic war. He smiled knowing that the Jedi had it covered for now but Kenobi was right about one thing.

Who would protect the galaxy when the Jedi could not protect themselves? Would there be anyone worthy of temporarily holding their place until their Order was restored? Then he realized what his new responsibility would eventually be: avenge what the Jedi could not protect. The thought of becoming a Black Avenger of the Night after a few years of peace with his mother put a smile on his face just as he put the ship into hyperspace for the duration of their short trip.

**Savage landed hard into** the red sand below him and at first could not rise back up. Then he used the Force to call his lightsaber back to him and dig his way out of the mess he got into. When he stood up, he saw only a desolate plain all around him of nothing but red sand everywhere. That was until he saw a face similar to one he had seen in the past: an apparent relative of Morley the snake who had helped him find his brother.

"Oh I know what you be thinking Savage and I am not relative of the junk-loving buffoon by any means," the snake said immediately. Savage knew it wasn't him from the female voice that it spoke with and was immediately set at ease by it. "Where am I?" Savage asked. "This is going to be hard for you to believe but… welcome to the future, three hundred and sixty-two years after your time to be precise," the snake answered.

"And how would you know this?" he asked her. "Easy enough, I am all that remains of your great-grandmother after that woman who birthed you destroyed me on KaiSu Lak'Ton," she answered. "If this is the future, how do I get back?" he inquired. "You don't which is the problem, I only got here because I'm immortal," she explained.

Then she urged him to follow him to a place where they would be safe from the sandstorms that ravaged this future desert. She added that this was all that remained of Dathomir after the Republic, the Separatists, the Galactic Empire, the Galactic Alliance and many others had been through it. "As you may have realized, you missed a lot from when Maul threw you into the time portal. All will be explained in due time while we also forge you a new legacy in this future world where no one you know lives any longer besides me," she concluded.

"Like I have a choice," Savage admitted in agreement. Though still very confused about all of this, Savage knew he would find a way to avenge his defeat at the hands of his brother nearly four hundred years ago. The Sith always came back to get revenge and now with his great-grandmother at his side, Savage knew he stood a chance of gaining his revenge. With nothing but his clothes and his lightsaber at his side, he followed his ancestor to a shelter where he could begin plotting both his revenge and the regaining of his family honor.

"There are many out there who have similar cunning to your brother. Would you like me to teach you how to recognize them from the stupid?" Hecate asked. Savage nodded, knowing full well that he was going to need as much help as possible; and with that his training resumed.


	27. Epilogue

Epilogue

It had been mere hours since Maul and Kycina had departed their homeworld for the final time in their lives but it felt like days. Finally, the Sith Infiltrator known as _Scimitar_ reached the destination Maul had selected and Kycina was still asleep when they arrived. Apparently, part of the accelerated came with a package that said his mother would be sleeping a lot more than a Nightsister probably should. It didn't matter to him since he didn't want to spoil the surprise just yet nor alarm her as to how close they were to an ally of his.

King Laertes' world of Nyx was not too far and he had actually gained a permit from the King to land and live on this planet when he needed to. It was just so long as he didn't take residence on Nyx himself that he and Laertes were fine. He had even called Claudius from Coruscant's prison to make sure that Laertes was sincere in his arrangements being secure and confidential. Putting the ship back on invisibility until they got past the security necessary for transportation of goods, Maul touched down on the surface of this planet near where he had had a cabin built deep in the forests of the planet.

It was the landing that disturbed Kycina out of her sleep and had her asking if they had arrived. "Yes mother, let me help you up so you can see our new home," he said with a smile. She did just that and then conjured the staff since she didn't want him helping her this time. He opened the ramp of the ship and directed a hand to the outdoors, the cool humid air filling Kycina's lung with a sweet taste she had never known before. When she saw the rustic cabin Maul had pointed out, she finally asked the most important question that he had been anticipating for the duration of the trip.

"What planet are we on?" she finally asked. "About time you asked that question of your son, I thought it would slip your mind and I didn't have to say a thing," he answered, laughing when she did. "Come on, quit teasing me and tell me where we are," she insisted eagerly. "Mother, allow me the honor of introducing us to our new life on Ruusan," he said.

She paused, not too ecstatic about moving to the planet where she had aided in the revival of KaiSu Lak'Ton. "I know what you're thinking but it's a place no one would think to look for us and that's what I want. Us disappearing is necessary for our new life to begin without our old ones interfering," Maul explained calmly. "Do you think we'll ever find peace even if we succeed in establishing a new life here?" she asked him, turning to look at him as she did.

At first, he had no answer to that question, thinking about very deeply as he always did any question of that significance. "It won't be an easy road mother but it won't be an impossible one," he answered. Content with probably the wisest answer she had ever heard from her son for as long as she had known him, she nodded and stepped off the ramp. The soil of Ruusan felt cold to them at first, foreign even, but after a few seconds they adjusted to it completely and walked toward the symbol of their new and simple life as mother and son: the life before the birth of the Avenger of the Night.


End file.
